TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY IN A CHILD-PSYCHIATRY INPATIENT POPULATION - ACONTROLLED-STUDY

Objective: To extend our findings from child psychiatry outpatients to child psychiatry inpatients regarding the similarity of children with a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI), particularly mild TBI, to matched children without such a history. Method: This is a chart revie w of patients consecutively admitted to a child psychiatry inpatient u nit over a 5-year period. Children with TBI were matched by age, sex, race, and social class to children with no history of TBI. Axis I and II diagnoses and diagnostic clusters and use of special education serv ices and IQ scores were compared. Results: Fifty-six (8.1%) of 694 con secutive patients admitted had a definite TBI. Not one of more than 50 variables compared between TBI and control subjects was significantly different. Conclusion: In a child psychiatry inpatient unit, patients with a history of TBI were virtually indistinguishable from matched c hildren without TBI. Caution should be exercised before attributing th e child's problems, especially long-term problems, to the TBI unless t he injury was severe or the child is exhibiting related phobic or post traumatic stress symptomatology.