Heads Up: Non-Diagnosed Concussion and Mild Brain Injuries Can Lead to Serious Long-Term Injury

Many individuals who sustain an MTBI are not hospitalized or do not receive any medical care at all. An unknown proportion of those who are not hospitalized may experience long-term problems, such as persistent headache, pain, fatigue, vision problems, hearing problems, memory problems, confusion, sleep disturbances, and/or mood changes. Symptoms of MTBI or concussion may appear mild, but can lead to significant, life-long impairment, affecting an individual's ability to function physically, cognitively, and/or psychologically.¹

In fact, concussions or mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI) account for an estimated 75% - 90% of the 1.4 million traumatic brain injury-related deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency department visits occurring annually.¹

Therefore, physicians can play a key role in helping prevent MTBI or concussion and improve a patient's health outcomes through early diagnosis, management, and appropriate referral.²

Order or download a FREE "Heads Up: Brain Injury in Your Practice" toolkit from the CDC which helps diagnose and manage MTBI.²

Listen to or download a podcast about concussions, which gives some information regarding their occurrence in Soldiers returning from military deployment here.²

Sources:

¹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (June 11, 2007). Heads up: Brain injury in your practice - A tool kit for physicians.http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/tbi/physicians_tool_kit.htm Online Injury Center

²Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (June 7, 2007). Heads up: Concussion information for physicians. http://www2a.cdc.gov/podcasts/player.asp. Online Podcasts.