A Case Study : Traumatic Brain Injury

Being home and at school are the primary locations for students and adolescents and where they spend the most time of their day. When a student is diagnosed with a TBI, it can dramatically affect their school performance. After a student experiences a TBI, school is one one of the many stepping stones where recovery and development is offered and can be used as an intervention. For schools to be able to offer the appropriate educational measures adjusted for the needs of the student, the appropriate support and recovery process for the student, schools having the appropriate documentation and knowledge about the student’s injury.

Awareness about traumatic brain injury has increased because of combat operations in Irag and Afghanistan and in the National Football League. The debate over the nature of traumatic brain injury is an ongoing issue. Some think of categorizing from mild to the server is the condition of TBI that can lead to a person bring over diagnosed or misdiagnosed. The other side points out that the focus should not be on diagnosis put on the recovery and treatment of the symptoms.

The purpose of this case study is to examine the specific case study of a 40 year old male who suffered a traumatic brain injury as the result of a fall from a roof. For future reference the term "Traumatic Brain Injury" will be abbreviated here as TBI and "Intracranial Pressure" as ICP. In this study we will explore the medical findings that are common in such an injury and how they relate to the Paramedic in the field. The specificity of this case will be broken down to define relevant terminology and findings that were present to the paramedics that responded to this call. Lastly, TBI's will be explored and discussed for their relevance in the field, contributing factors and comorbidities as they relate to paramedicine.

Attention for traumatic brain injury has grown over the years and programs have been created to help try and prevent the injuries. As this is an injury to the brain the literature is vast with insight into what part of the brain injured resulted in what change in the individual. Children and athletics have been the main focus in recent years for studies as research have shown that undiagnosed injuries can have long lasting effects.

Medical and technological advances have led to greater survival rates in individuals suffering from various illness and injury throughout history. This includes individuals who suffer traumatic and nontraumatic brain injuries. Approximately 1.5 million people in the United States sustain a brain injury each year with the survival rate of over 90 percent making brain injury the leading cause for disability in the United States. (Mysiw, Bogner, Corrigan, Fugate, Clinchot, & Kadyan 2006). Cognitive, physical, sensory and behavioral changes are widely noted in individuals in the months and years following a brain injury. However, the psychosocial, psychological and emotional effects of these injuries are less discussed and therefore these aspects can be overlooked when anticipating a course of treatment. Individuals who sustain acquired brain injuries experience significant, lasting impairment in the psychosocial, psychological and emotional aspects of their lives and better understanding of these issues can lead to better treatment and coping skills for these individuals.

A traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) occurs when the brain is somehow injured, rattled, or wounded from an external source of force. The means of acquisition and the severity of TBIs are unique to each patient; therefore, symptoms and rehabilitation can vary greatly depending on the patient’s condition following the incident and how they sustained the injury. The severity of a TBI is generally classified into one of three categories: mild, moderate, or severe, and this type of diagnostic criteria influences how a patient with TBI is treated by medical staff and rehabilitation specialists. TBIs can affect a specific part of the brain that was directly impacted, leaving the patients with only one or a few areas of impairment, or the damage can

Concussions can seriously alter one’s life. Concussions are the result of moderate to severe impact to the head with another object. These impacts shake the brain, which is suspended in cerebral fluid, and cause it to scrape against the skull. Concussions can have mild to severe symptoms including insomnia, an inability to concentrate and headaches. Symptoms manifest both physically and mentally and may appear days after the initial trauma, with the possibility of lasting for months. Concussions are extremely prominent in contact sports such as football and hockey at all ages of play, professional to amateur. Multiple concussions may be accompanied by CTE, a neurodegenerative disease associated with

Traumatic brain injury in general is characterized by the changes in brain function due to some sort of a biomechanical force induced by either directly or indirectly as a hit or blow to the head (Facts and Prevention, 2015). Mild traumatic brain injury, which will be considered as equivalent term with concussion, was defined by the International Conference on Concussion in Sport as a complex pathophysiological process induced by biomechanical forces (Mccrory et al., 2013). This penetrating head injury will disrupt the normal function of the brain. The cause of sports-related brain injury can be induced by a direct or indirect blow to the head. Injury can also be caused by the force of impulse due to impacts on other parts of the body being

A traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) occurs when the brain is somehow injured, rattled, or wounded from an external source of force. The means of acquisition and the severity of TBIs are unique to each patient; therefore, symptoms and rehabilitation can vary greatly depending on the patient’s condition following the incident and how they sustained the injury. The severity of a TBI is generally classified into one of three categories: mild, moderate, or severe, and this type of diagnostic criteria influences how a patient with TBI is treated by medical staff and rehabilitation specialists. TBIs can affect a specific part of the brain that was directly impacted, leaving the patients with only one or a few areas of impairment, or the damage can

For a long time, traumatic brain injury has been a large contributor to disabilities and death within the United States. Around 30 percent of these injuries lead to death, and those who survive these injuries may suffer from short-term side effects to long-term disabilities. It can range from a minor head injury to a major injury that you might suffer from a motorcycle accident.

According to the Center for Disease Control, traumatic brain injuries contribute to about 30% of all injury deaths. Traumatic brain injuries are classified as “severe” or “mild”. The most common type of TBI is mild and called a concussion. The CDC estimates 2.8 billion emergency

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has affected many people, but has hardly raised awareness; in fact according to Marcia Clemmitt “About 1.7 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year…Yet, while they affect so many people, TBI has received little medical-research funding until brain injuries from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan … began to mount in recent years.”(Clemmitt) For such a long time many people were unaware of what traumatic brain injury even meant; Up until a numerous groups of veterans that came back home, from Afghanistan were found to suffer from traumatic brain injuries. Due to the discovery, the people that already suffered from traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects 1.7 million people annually in the U.S. with 275,000 hospitalizations and 52,000 deaths. In 2010, the medical cost for treating TBI patients in the U.S. was $76.5 billion and rising annually. Primary causes for TBI include the following: motor vehicle crashes, falls, assaults and sports or recreation-related injuries (concussions). Finding the right treatment to reduce mortality rates and improve the clinical outcomes in TBI patients has been elusive.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI), or intracranial injury, is a medical diagnosis which refers to closed or penetrative damage to the brain that is caused by an external source. Every year, TBIs affect approximately 150-250 people in a population of 100,000 (León-Carrión, Domínguez-Morales, Martín, & Murillo-Cabezas, 2005). The leading causes of TBI are traffic accidents, work injuries, sports injuries, and extreme violence (León-Carrión et al., 2005). TBI is most often fatal when the cause is an injury due to the use of firearms, a traffic accident, or a long fall (León-Carrión et al., 2005). However, fatality rates and rates of occurrence differ in various countries due to

Traumatic Brain Injury is otherwise known as TBI. “Traumatic brain injury, a form of acquired brain injury, occurs when sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. TBI can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue” (NINDS, 2010). There are two main types of TBI, closed head injuries such as head hitting a windshield and penetrating head injuries such as a gunshot wound. As reported by the Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation,” The severity of traumatic brain injuries is often assessed using the Glasgow Coma Scale, with scores ranging from 3 to 15. The higher the score,