I Suffered A Traumatic Brain Injury. What Do I Need To Know?
The term traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as a hit or shot to the skull or a deep head impact that interrupts the operation of the brain. Not all traumas or jolts to the skull result in a TBI. The intensity of such an injury may span from “modest,” i.e., a limited change in mental status or consciousness to “extreme,” i.e., a long-term period of time of unconsciousness or amnesia after the trauma. A traumatic brain injury can end up in short or long-term issues with independent function.
What amount of persons have TBI?
Of the 1.4 million who endure a TBI just about every year in the United States:
50,000 pass away; 235,000 are put in the hospital; and 1.1 million are diagnosed and released from an emergency department. The amount of men and women with Traumatic brain injury who are not observed in an emergency department or who get no attention is not known.
What leads to Traumatic brain injury?
The foremost sources of Traumatic brain injury are:
Falls (28%); Motor vehicle-traffic crashes (20%);
Struck by/against (19%); and
Assaults (11%).
Explosions are a major cause of TBI for active duty military people in war zones.
Who is at top risk for Traumatic brain injury?
Men are appoximately 1.5 times as likely as females to suffer a Traumatic brain injury. The two age categories at highest risk for TBI are 0 to 4 year olds and 15 to 19 year olds.
Certain military duties (e.g., paratrooper) increase the risk of suffering a TBI. African Americans have the highest death rate from Traumatic brain injury.
What are the costs of Traumatic brain injury?
Direct medical expenses and indirect expenses for instance lost productivity of TBI totaled an projected $60 billion in the United States in the mid 1990′s.
What are the long-term implications of TBI?
The CDC estimates that no less than 3.17 Million Americans already have a long-term or lifelong need for support to execute activities of daily living as a result of a TBI.