[Six-month outcome of 795 patients admitted to Annecy hospital emergency department for mild traumatic brain injury]

Abstract

Introduction: Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) are common, but their outcomes are not very well known. A prospective study was conducted in Annecy hospital, France (CHRA), to assess the incidence of disorders 6 months after the injury and to identify risk factors for persistent disorders.

Method: All patients admitted to the emergency department after a mild brain injury between February 2006 and July 2007 were included. They were contacted by telephone 6 months later to detect (by questionnaire) the presence of persistent disorders. Patients reporting disorders were referred to the l ocal brain injury centre for a follow-up check-up.

Results: Ninety three of the 795 patients contacted reported disorders: memory disorders (80%), sleep disorders (79%), headaches (65%), irritability (64%), speech disorders (64%) and concentration disorders (62%). Disorders at 6 months were independently associated with age, female gender, presence of headache at the initial examination and CT scan performed in the emergency department.

Discussion: The disorders reported in this study were consistent with the results of previous studies. As these disorders are usually nonspecific, a case-control study or an exposed-unexposed study would be necessary to determine whether or not these disorders are linked to mTBI.