Special communicationPosition Statement: Definition of Traumatic Brain Injury
Section snippets
TBI Definition
TBI is defined as an alteration in brain function, or other evidence of brain pathology, caused by an external force.
Explanatory Notes
[A] Alteration in brain function is defined as 1 of the following clinical signs:
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Any period of loss of or a decreased LOC
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Any loss of memory for events immediately before (retrograde amnesia) or after the injury (PTA)
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Neurologic deficits (weakness, loss of balance, change in vision, dyspraxia paresis/plegia [paralysis], sensory loss, aphasia, etc.)
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Any alteration in mental state at the time of the injury (confusion, disorientation, slowed thinking, etc.)
It is important to recognize that factors
Discussion
Clear-cut definitions and unambiguous diagnostic criteria are prerequisites for epidemiology, clinical care, and research in any disease. Yet little attention has been paid in the literature to defining TBI, and many clinicians feel that the term is self-explanatory. The gradual change in terminology from “head injury” to “traumatic brain injury” reflects the understanding that it is the damage to the brain that matters, and not so the damage to scalp or skull. The importance of injury to the
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Supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, and the Defense Centers of Excellence, the Medical Research Council (RG46503), the National Institute for Health Research, United Kingdom (RG53668), the BOC Professorship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RG42458), the NIH-NINDS (NS 062778A, NS 059032-01, TW 007262-01), the Wallace H. Coulter Foundation, the Division of Emergency Neurosciences, Department of Emergency Medicine at Emory University, the NIH-NINDS (NS 42691), and the Flemish Institute for promoting Innovation in Science and Technology.
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