Mild head injury: a misnomer

Abstract

Despite controversy surrounding the concept of mild head injury (MHI), it is becoming evident that even a head trauma termed 'mild' may result in significant behavioural sequelae. The present study was an attempt at documenting structural cerebral damage, by way of computerized tomography, in a group of patients having suffered a MHI as defined by the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score. A 1-year retrospective chart review identified 80 MHI patients who presented to the Emergency department of a lead hospital for trauma. Sixty-six per cent of these MHI patients were scanned. Evidence of intracranial abnormalities was obtained in 31% of the overall sample. Patients with a lower GCS score had a higher percentage of abnormal scans than those with a GCS score of either 14 or 15. The present findings suggest that a MHI can be associated with significant morbidity, and that a MHI group does not constitute a homogeneous pool of patients.

Repeated Closed Head Injury in Mice Results in Sustained Motor and Memory Deficits and Chronic Cellular Changes

“…An estimated 3.8 million people in the United States sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year, resulting in 60 billion dollars in annual healthcare costs [ 1 , 2 ]. Approximately 80% of TBIs are classified as “mild” head injuries [ 3 – 5 ], and often result in one or more symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, and/or headaches [ 4 , 6 – 8 ]. Memory loss, motor coordination deficits, vision impairment, anxiety, and/or irritability have also been observed after mild TBI [ 4 , 9 ].…”

Adolescent Sports-Related Concussion: US Healthcare Access, Finance, and Delivery

“…During the 1990s, the assessment of concussion was fueled by research that delved directly into mTBI. Tellier and colleagues [11] noted that adolescents and adults with concussive head injury did not constitute a homogeneous pool. Even though brain CT underestimated the number of intracranial abnormalities, it was the test of choice for concussion in the first 24 to 48 hours after injury, especially in pediatric patients [12] because of its ready availability in Emergency Departments (ED), ease of performance, lower cost, and superior modality in detecting skull fractures.…”

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

“…Mild traumatic brain injury or MTBI-also called concussion, minor head injury, minor brain injury, minor head trauma, or minor TBI (Rimel, Giordani, Barth, et al 1981;Tellier, Della Malva, Cwinn, et al 1999;Rutherford 1989)-is one of the most common neurologic disorders (Kurtzke and Jurland 1993). It occurs when an impact or forceful motion of the head results in a brief alteration of mental status, such as confusion or disorientation, loss of memory for events immediately before or after the injury, or brief loss of consciousness.…”