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Traumatic Brain Injury Classifications
The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine stated that a traumatic
brain injury is manifested by one or more of the following:
- Loss of consciousness
- Memory loss for events immediately before or after the accident
- Alteration in mental state at the time of the accident (e.g.,
feeling dazed, disoriented, or confused)
- Focal neurological deficit(s) that may or may not be transient
but where the severity of the injury does not exceed the following:
a. loss of consciousness of approximately 30 minutes or
less;
b. after 30 minutes, an initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)
of 13-15; and
c. posttraumatic amnesia (PTA) not greater than 24 hours.
(Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation 8(3), 86-87.)
There are two different types of traumatic
brain injuries (TBIs) that can occur.
- occur when
the head forcefully hits an object (like a dashboard, etc). Cranial
contents have not been penetrated and there is no air inside the
protective layers of the skull.
- occur
when something passes through the skull and pierces the brain
(like a gunshot wound). The skull has been penetrated and exposed
to air.
Closed head injuries run the risk of delayed diagnoses because
everything may appear to be okay externally while internally there
has been major damage. Depending on the area of the brain that has
been damaged, physical, behavioral, or mental changes can occur.
In most instances, focal brain damage results. Focal damage means
that the injury is confined to just a small area of the brain where
the head impacted an object.
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