Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)-Long-Term Care
Basics
Description
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by external trauma to the brain and may result in chronic impairment of physical, cognitive, and psychosocial function.
- The management of acute TBI is not covered here.
- Mild TBI (mTBI) is synonymous with concussion.
Epidemiology
- Predominant age: highest incidence in three age groups: 75+ years >0 to 4 years >15 to 24 years
- Male > female (1.2:1)
Incidence
- ~2.5 million per year in the United States (likely an underestimate of disease burden because many do not seek medical care)
- 56,000 deaths per year (30% of all injury related deaths)
Prevalence
1–2% of the United States population has long-term TBI-related disabilities.
Pediatric Considerations
- Novel psychiatric disorders (NPD) post-TBI in children include, among others, secondary attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder > conduct disorder > personality change > depressive disorder > anxiety disorder
- NPDs occur in as many as 31% of children with mTBI 2 years after injury.
- Predictors of a child developing NPDs include severity of injury, lower socioeconomic status, and degree of family dysfunction.
Etiology and Pathophysiology
- Most common causes: falls > object strike to the head > motor-vehicle crashes
- Intentional self-harm and violence-related TBI have increased.
- Sports and recreation injuries (especially in teenagers and young adults)
- Primary injury
- Transfer of external forces to contents within the skull
- Result in varying degrees and combinations of cortical contusions, coup-countercoup injury, hemorrhage (both axial and extra-axial), and stretching/sheering/transecting axonal injury
- Secondary injury
- Cascade of molecular injury after primary injury resulting in ischemia and/or infarction of neuronal tissue
- Secondary injury can continue well after the primary injury (hours to days after initial insult).
- Mechanisms include release of excitatory neurotransmitters, release of free radicles, mitochondrial dysfunction, and ischemia from vasospasm among others.
- Impaired axonal transport and inflammation lead to increased edema, raising intracranial pressure. This, in turn, reduces blood flow to brain and results in further ischemia/infarction.
- Secondary injury can be made even worse with prior anticoagulation, subsequent hypoxia, and/or subsequent hypotension after primary injury.
Risk Factors
- Sex: male
- Age: 75+ years >0 to 4 years >15 to 24 years
- Lower socioeconomic status
- Alcohol and drug use
- Psychiatric disorders
- Military personnel/veterans
General Prevention
- Improved safety standards and programs to minimize injury from vehicular-related events (motor vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian), falls, violence, sports, and recreation provide best prevention against TBI.
- This includes car seat safety, seatbelt use, helmet use, trip hazards (senior living), balance activities (seniors), safety gates, sport-specific training, and playground safety regulations.
Commonly Associated Conditions
- Pain: chronic pain, chronic headaches
- Psychiatric: psychosis, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, attention deficit disorder, suicidality
- Substance abuse
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Citation
Domino, Frank J., et al., editors. "Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)-Long-Term Care." 5-Minute Clinical Consult, 33rd ed., Wolters Kluwer, 2025. Medicine Central, im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/816725/all/Traumatic_Brain_Injury__TBI__Long_Term_Care.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)-Long-Term Care. In: Domino FJF, Baldor RAR, Golding JJ, et al, eds. 5-Minute Clinical Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2025. https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/816725/all/Traumatic_Brain_Injury__TBI__Long_Term_Care. Accessed October 15, 2024.
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)-Long-Term Care. (2025). In Domino, F. J., Baldor, R. A., Golding, J., & Stephens, M. B. (Eds.), 5-Minute Clinical Consult (33rd ed.). Wolters Kluwer. https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/816725/all/Traumatic_Brain_Injury__TBI__Long_Term_Care
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)-Long-Term Care [Internet]. In: Domino FJF, Baldor RAR, Golding JJ, Stephens MBM, editors. 5-Minute Clinical Consult. Wolters Kluwer; 2025. [cited 2024 October 15]. Available from: https://im.unboundmedicine.com/medicine/view/5-Minute-Clinical-Consult/816725/all/Traumatic_Brain_Injury__TBI__Long_Term_Care.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
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