(Maj. Peter Osterbauer is a neurologist at the Traumatic Brain Injury clinic at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska. He primarily sees Army patients who suffered a TBI while deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan.)
It’s been nine months since we opened the TBI Clinic here at Elmendorf Air Force Base. For those of you not familiar with traumatic brain injury: Rather than being a condition with a clearly defined course of progression, TBI is a spectrum encompassing multiple different injury types, symptoms, and long-term consequences...
We classify a traumatic brain injury as mild, moderate, or severe, based on different aspects of the injury itself. Unfortunately, severe injuries most often result in a poor long-term outcome. From what we know about these types of injuries, the outcome of a moderate injury is more difficult to predict, while patients with mild injuries normally have a good outcome.
The focus of our clinic is mild traumatic brain injury. A mild TBI is characterized by no loss of consciousness or loss of consciousness for less than 30 minutes, alteration of consciousness for less than 24 hours, and/or amnesia for less than 24 hours. Although classified as mild, the resulting symptoms can often significantly affect quality of life.
During this initial nine months, we have seen more than 1,500 patients. Almost all of these are Soldiers who are returning here following duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. TBI has become one of the most common injuries suffered by our troops during the Global War on Terrorism, with estimates at around 320,000 men and women returning from deployment with some form of TBI.
The patients I see commonly experience headaches, dizziness, cognitive decline, irritability and mood swings, difficulty with concentration, and other symptoms. These are often intertwined with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, which further complicates the picture.
The good news is that fortunately most patients make a full recovery within 3-to-6 months of the injury. I have seen some patients take up to a year to recover, with approximately 15% never fully returning to their pre-injury baseline. The good news is that even in the most severe cases some degree of recovery almost always occurs.
One thing we all understand about TBI is that at this time, there is no specific "TBI pill" to treat all of the symptoms. Most of the symptoms I see can be treated, but this involves a team approach with professionals from multiple specialties. We have found that education, medication, talk therapy, and alternative therapies are used in combination to achieve the best possible outcome. One other thing worth mentioning is that research for novel treatments is also ongoing.
I would like to emphasize to the family members, friends, and coworkers of TBI patients to remember that the effects of a traumatic brain injury are real, even though there may be no visible sign of the injury. Everything might appear to be normal, but in fact it’s not. By the same token, I think it’s important to understand that not everyone who hits their head carries a diagnosis of TBI, nor does a diagnosis of mild TBI imply permanent brain damage.
I’m happy to conclude by saying that mild TBI patients should be reassured they will return to their previous level of function within three months to one year. The most important thing is to never give up. Patients shouldn’t give up on their chance for recovery, and friends and family members should continue to support the patient during the treatment process. We’re doing everything we can to ensure our patients get the treatment they need and have the best chance at recovery.
We classify a traumatic brain injury as mild, moderate, or severe, based on different aspects of the injury itself. Unfortunately, severe injuries most often result in a poor long-term outcome. From what we know about these types of injuries, the outcome of a moderate injury is more difficult to predict, while patients with mild injuries normally have a good outcome.
The focus of our clinic is mild traumatic brain injury. A mild TBI is characterized by no loss of consciousness or loss of consciousness for less than 30 minutes, alteration of consciousness for less than 24 hours, and/or amnesia for less than 24 hours. Although classified as mild, the resulting symptoms can often significantly affect quality of life.
During this initial nine months, we have seen more than 1,500 patients. Almost all of these are Soldiers who are returning here following duty in Iraq or Afghanistan. TBI has become one of the most common injuries suffered by our troops during the Global War on Terrorism, with estimates at around 320,000 men and women returning from deployment with some form of TBI.
The patients I see commonly experience headaches, dizziness, cognitive decline, irritability and mood swings, difficulty with concentration, and other symptoms. These are often intertwined with symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder, which further complicates the picture.
The good news is that fortunately most patients make a full recovery within 3-to-6 months of the injury. I have seen some patients take up to a year to recover, with approximately 15% never fully returning to their pre-injury baseline. The good news is that even in the most severe cases some degree of recovery almost always occurs.
One thing we all understand about TBI is that at this time, there is no specific "TBI pill" to treat all of the symptoms. Most of the symptoms I see can be treated, but this involves a team approach with professionals from multiple specialties. We have found that education, medication, talk therapy, and alternative therapies are used in combination to achieve the best possible outcome. One other thing worth mentioning is that research for novel treatments is also ongoing.
I would like to emphasize to the family members, friends, and coworkers of TBI patients to remember that the effects of a traumatic brain injury are real, even though there may be no visible sign of the injury. Everything might appear to be normal, but in fact it’s not. By the same token, I think it’s important to understand that not everyone who hits their head carries a diagnosis of TBI, nor does a diagnosis of mild TBI imply permanent brain damage.
I’m happy to conclude by saying that mild TBI patients should be reassured they will return to their previous level of function within three months to one year. The most important thing is to never give up. Patients shouldn’t give up on their chance for recovery, and friends and family members should continue to support the patient during the treatment process. We’re doing everything we can to ensure our patients get the treatment they need and have the best chance at recovery.
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