Litigation

Army Study Reports One In Five Brain Injuries Go Unrecognized

By Michael Kaplen

In a study released yesterday, the Army has confirmed that Up to 20 percent of U.S. troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan may have suffered mild concussions but were unaware of them and did not get treatment.

The study reports that the Army has a hard time identifying and treating affected troops because the soldiers and Marines don't recognize the symptoms and don't report them.

"The Army is challenged to understand, diagnose and treat military personnel who suffer with mild TBI," said Brig. Gen. Donald Bradshaw, who leads the Army's TBI task force.

In addition to recognizing the common symptoms of a concussion such as headaches, dizziness, sleep disorders, nausea or memory problems, the Army is now alerting soldiers and their families to the psychological consequences of closed head injury such as irritability, anxiety and depression.

The earlier that these soldiers recognize and report their symptoms, the earlier that they can get treatment.  Just as important, soldiers who are still on active duty need to know that these symptoms are important to report so that they are not exposed to a second head injury before they fully recover from the initial injury they received.

Full post as published by Brain Injury News and Information on January 18, 2008 (boomark / email).