MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY IN PERSONS WITH MULTIPLE TRAUMA - THE PROBLEM OF DELAYED DIAGNOSIS

Though there is a consensus among many medical and rehabilitation prof essionals as to the symptoms indicative of mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), many individuals go undiagnosed for long periods of time afte r their injuries. Three case studies were performed in order to descri be the process and timing of arriving at the diagnosis of MTBI. In ind ividuals with multiple traumatic injuries, there is often a delay betw een injury and diagnosis. All three persons in this study were traumat ically injured, married, white males in their 30's and 40's. One was i njured in an industrial accident, and the other two in motor vehicle a ccidents. One was diagnosed with MTBI six months post injury, one was diagnosed 1 year 8 months post injury, and the individual who was inju red in the industrial accident was not diagnosed for almost four years . Visibility and ease of treatment of orthopedic and tissue injuries, and the physicians' lack of premorbid knowledge of an individual's beh avior may explain the lack of MTBI diagnosis. An implication for medic al practice is the need to incorporate screening for TBI symptoms into post traumatic diagnostic routines. However. if persons with multiple traumatic injuries are not screened for MTBI during the acute stage a fter sustaining their injury(ies), they will often have contact with r ehabilitation professionals before they leave the healthcare system en tirely. These professionals could incorporate MTBI screening into the rehabilitation process, possibly catching those cases that have filter ed through the system without being identified.