TBI Lecture Notes 04.13 and 04.15 Flashcards
List the secondary consequences of TBI presented in lecture
Cerebral Edema Traumatic Hydrocephalus Elevated Intracranial Pressure Ischemic Brain Damage Alterations in the Blood-Brain Barrier
Often, ____ ____ are more devastating than ____ ____
secondary consequences
primary consequences
What is Cerebral Edema?
Accumulation of fluid between the brain and the skull due to trauma, anoxia, infection, or inflammation.
Describe Traumatic Hydrocephalus
Swelling of brain tissues sometimes compresses passages through which CSF circulates among ventricles and into subarachnoid space. Trapped CSH exerts pressure on walls of ventricles, causing ventricles to expand. As ventricles expand, brain tissues are compressed & intracranial pressures rises.
What is the most dramatic and deadly consequence of a TBI?
Pressure buildup inside of the skull aka Elevated Intracranial Pressure
What is the most common cause of death in TBIs?
Elevated Intracranial Pressure
What is ischemic brain damage?
Brain ischemia s a condition in which there is insufficient blood flow to the brain to meet metabolic demand. This leads to poor oxygen supply (cerebral hypoxia) and thus to the death of brain tissue or cerebral infarction / ischemic stroke.
What is cerebral vasospasm? Cause?
contraction of muscular layer surrounding blood vessels. May be caused by injury to control centers that regular dilation/constriction of cerebral arteries.
What is the blood-brain barrier’s function? How does a BI affect it, and what are possible results?
Regulates the movement of substances from the blood into the tissues of the brain. BI may disrupt this regulation, allowing normally excluded substances (e.g., proteins, neurotransmitter chemicals) to enter brain tissue. Passage of normally excluded substances into the brain may contribute to accumulation of fluid and swelling of brain tissues (cerebral edema).
What is a concussion?
Severe head injuries: “Physiologic injury to the brain without evidence of structural alteration.”
What is Grade 1 according to the American Academy of Neurology’s scale?
Transient confusion, no loss of consciousness; concussion symptoms or mental status abnormalities resolve in less than 15 minutes.
What is Grade 2 according to the American Academy of Neurology’s scale?
Transient confusion, no loss of consciousness; concussion symptoms or mental status abnormalities last more than 15 minutes.
What is Grade 3 according to the American Academy of Neurology’s scale?
Any loss of consciousness, whether brief (seconds) or prolonged (minutes)
