Mild traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common but accurate diagnosis and defining criteria for mild TBI and its clinical consequences have been problematic. Mild TBI causes transient neurophysiologic brain dysfunction, sometimes with structural axonal and neuronal damage. Biomarkers, such as newer imaging technologies and protein markers, are promising indicators of brain injury but are not ready for clinical use. Diagnosis relies on clinical criteria regarding depth and duration of impaired consciousness and amnesia. These criteria are particularly difficult to confirm at the least severe end of the mild TBI continuum, especially when relying on subjective, retrospective accounts. The postconcussive syndrome is a controversial concept because of varying criteria, inconsistent symptom clusters and the evidence that similar symptom profiles occur with other disorders, and even in a proportion of healthy individuals. The clinical consequences of mild TBI can be conceptualized as two multidimensional disorders: (1) a constellation of acute symptoms that might be termed early phase post-traumatic disorder (e.g., headache, dizziness, imbalance, fatigue, sleep disruption, impaired cognition), that typically resolve in days to weeks and are largely related to brain trauma and concomitant injuries; (2) a later set of symptoms, a late phase post-traumatic disorder, evolving out of the early phase in a minority of patients, with a more prolonged (months to years), sometimes worsening set of somatic, emotional, and cognitive symptoms. The later phase disorder is highly influenced by a variety of psychosocial factors and has little specificity for brain injury, although a history of multiple concussions seems to increase the risk of more severe and longer duration symptoms. Effective early phase management may prevent or limit the later phase disorder and should include education about symptoms and expectations for recovery, as well as recommendations for activity modifications. Later phase treatment should be informed by thoughtful differential diagnosis and the multiplicity of premorbid and comorbid conditions that may influence symptoms. Treatment should incorporate a hierarchical, sequential approach to symptom management, prioritizing problems with significant functional impact and effective, available interventions (e.g., headache, depression, anxiety, insomnia, vertigo).

Keywords: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury; anxiety; concussion; depression; dizziness; fatigue; headache; imbalance; persistent post-concussive syndrome; post-traumatic stress disorder; postconcussive syndrome.