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In a previous post I wrote about the research conducted by Sir Graham Teasdale. Dr. Teasdale and his colleagues followed a large group of patients who had sustained severe, moderate and mild traumatic brain injuries and measured the effect of those injuries on the individual's ability to work. Dr. Teasdale and his fellow researchers found that even ten years post accident people with mild TBI were still disabled.

Now, a recent study from Germany has found similar results. In this month's issue of "Brain," the official research journal of the International Brain Association, Rickels, Wild, and Wenzlaff conducted a year long study to evaluate the epidemiology, causes, treatment, and outcome of all degrees of head injury severity in two different areas in Germany.  The researchers conducted a prospective study of two regions in Germany, the City of Hanover (Urban) and Munster (Rural).  Between March 1, 2000 and February 28, 2001, patients were recruited who were admitted to the hospital emergency department due to a traumatic brain injury.  Seventy-three percent of this population received in-hospital treatment.  The researchers found an incidence of TBI of 332 per 100,000 people of population.  Although the Glasgow comma scale and other forms of neurologic examinations were only performed in 50% of the cases, according to the GCS status, 9.2% were classified as mild.  Parenthetically, no explanation is given as to the high incidents of hospitalization following mild TBI.  However, one year after the accident, 50% of all patients still required treatment even after mild traumatic brain injury.  With regard to ability to resume work and activities of daily living, at one year, 78.7% of the patients stated that they were doing just as well in their jobs or at school as had been the case before their accident.  However, approximately 50% of all patients, irrespective of the severity of their injuries, stated that they still required treatment for their injuries. 

 

One year after the accident, however, approximately 10% in each grouping expressed objective complaints in the areas of every day life, friends and family, and job and school.  The authors noted 'it is remarkable, however, that half the patients with these problems had initially been classified as suffering from mild TBI.'  It will be interesting to see the result should the authors continue to follow this group. 

 

The article entitled 'Head Injury in Germany: A population-based perspective study on epidemiology, causes, treatment and outcome of all degrees of head-injury severity in two distinct areas.'  Brain Injury, November 2010; 24(12):1491-1504.

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