A mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a complex pathophysiologic process that has a systemic effect on the body aside from solely an impairment in cognitive function. Dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) has been found to induce abnormalities in organ systems throughout the body, and may contribute to cardiovascular dysregulation and increased mortality. Autonomic dysfunction, also known as dysautonomia, has been studied in moderate and severe TBI, and has emerged as a major contributing factor in the symptomatology in mTBI as well. Analysis of the ANS has been studied through changes in heart rate variability (HRV), pupillary dynamics, eye pressure, and arterial pulse wave in those with mild TBI. Graded exercise testing has been studied as both a method of diagnosis and as a means of recovery in those with mild TBI, especially in those with persistent symptoms. Given the studies showing persistence of autonomic dysfunction after symptomatic resolution of concussions, further research is needed to establish return to play protocols

Context Previous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) for various headache types, with limited evidence of its use for headaches related to mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). No studies prior studies were found regarding OMT for headaches in patients with postconcussion syndrome (PCS), defined as symptom persistence for longer than 3 months after MTBI. Objectives To evaluate OMT for headaches in patients with PCS. Methods A controlled pilot study was conducted of patients with PCS who presented to an outpatient interdisciplinary rehabilitation clinic; patients with symptoms lasting longer than 3 months were enrolled and randomly assigned to an OMT treatment group or a control group. Primary outcome measures were immediate change in headache scores according to a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and change in the six item Headache Impact Test (HIT-6) between baseline and follow up visits. The participants in the control group completed the HIT-6 between baseline and follow up visits but did not receive OMT and did not complete the VAS. Mean immediate VAS score change for the treatment group and mean improvement in HIT-6 scores for both groups between baseline and follow up were analyzed for statistical significance. Results A total of 26 patients were included in this study: 13 (50%) in the treatment group and 13 (50%) in the control group. Six patients (23.1%), three from each group, did not complete the study, so 10 subjects in each group were included in the final analysis. Statistically significant improvement in VAS scores was seen immediately after OMT in the treatment group (mean change, 2.1;p=0.002). Mean HIT-6 scores showed improvement in the treatment group compared with the control group, although the change was not statistically significant (p=0.15) from baseline to follow up visit. No adverse effects from treatments were noted. Conclusions Patients with headaches secondary to PCS showed immediate benefit in headache pain intensity after OMT. However, no sustained benefit was found on the follow up visit compared with the control group.

Objective: To determine whether exposure to traumatic brain injury (TBI) is associated with increased risk of stroke in adults compared with referents not exposed to TBI, and to understand whether an association exists throughout the spectrum of injury severity, whether it differs between the acute and chronic phases after TBI, and whether the association is greater with hemorrhagic compared with ischemic stroke after TBI. Setting: A database search was conducted on January 22, 2021. Searches were run in MEDLINE (1946 to present), Embase (1988 to present), Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews (various dates), Scopus (1970 to present), and Web of Science (1975 to present). Design: Observational studies that quantified the association of stroke after TBI compared with referents without TBI were included. Three coauthors independently reviewed titles and abstracts to determine study eligibility. Study characteristics were extracted independently by 2 coauthors who followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines, and study quality was assessed independently by 2 coauthors who used the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Random-effects meta-analyses were performed. Main Measures: The primary exposure was TBI of any severity, and the primary outcome was stroke of any kind. Subgroup analysis was performed to assess heterogeneity associated with severity of TBI, type of stroke, and time from TBI to stroke. Results: A total of 64 fulltext articles were reviewed, and data were extracted from 8 cohort studies (N = 619 992 individuals exposed to TBI along with nonexposed referents). A significant overall association was found with TBI and stroke (hazard ratio, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.28-3.32). Significant subgroup differences were found with a smaller risk of ischemic stroke compared with stroke of all types (P < .001, I 2 = 93.9%). Conclusions: TBI, regardless of injury severity, was associated with a higher risk of stroke. To improve secondary stroke prevention strategies, future studies should classify TBI severity and type of stroke more precisely and determine long-term risk.

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<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of disability and is associated with decreased survival. Although it is generally accepted that TBI increases risk of death in acute and postacute periods after injury, causes of premature death after TBI in the long term are less clear. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> A cohort sample of Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents with confirmed TBI from January 1987 through December 1999 was identified. Each case was assigned an age- and sex-matched non-TBI referent case, called <i>regular referent</i>. Confirmed TBI cases with simultaneous nonhead injuries were identified, labeled <i>special cases</i>. These were assigned 2 age- and sex-matched <i>special referents</i> with nonhead injuries of similar severity. Underlying causes of death in each case were categorized using death certificates, <i>International Classification of Diseases</i>, <i>Ninth Revision</i>, <i>International Statistical Classification of Diseases</i>, <i>Tenth Revision</i>, and manual health record review. Comparisons were made over the study period and among 6-month survivors. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Case-regular referent pairs (<i>n</i> = 1,257) were identified over the study period, and 221 were special cases. In total, 237 deaths occurred among these pairs. A statistically significant difference was observed between total number of deaths among all cases (<i>n</i> = 139, 11%) and regular referents (<i>n</i> = 98, 8%) (<i>p</i> = 0.006) over the entire period. This outcome was not true for special cases (32/221, 14%) and special referents (61/441, 14%) (<i>p</i> = 0.81). A greater proportion of deaths by external cause than all other causes was observed in all cases (52/139, 37%) versus regular referents (3/98, 3%) and in special cases (13/32, 41%) versus special referents (5/61, 8%) (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001 for both). Among all case-referent pairs surviving 6 months, no difference was found between total number of deaths (<i>p</i> = 0.82). The underlying cause of death between these 2 groups was significantly different for external causes only (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.01). For special cases surviving 6 months versus special referents, no difference was observed in total number of deaths (<i>p</i> = 0.24) or underlying causes of death (<i>p</i> = 1.00) between groups. <b><i>Discussion/Conclusion:</i></b> This population-based case-matched referent study showed that increased risk of death after TBI existed only during the first 6 months after injury, and the difference was due to external causes.

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ObjectiveTo conduct a scoping review of models of care for chronic disease management to identify potentially effective components for management of chronic traumatic brain injury (TBI).MethodsInformation sources: Systematic searches of three databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) from January 2010 to May 2021. Eligibility criteria: Systematic reviews and meta‐analyses reporting on the effectiveness of the Chronic Care Model (CCM), collaborative/integrated care, and other chronic disease management models. Data: Target diseases, model components used (n = 11), and six outcomes (disease‐specific, generic health‐related quality of life and functioning, adherence, health knowledge, patient satisfaction, and cost/health care use). Synthesis: Narrative synthesis, including proportion of reviews documenting outcome benefits.ResultsMore than half (55%) of the 186 eligible reviews focused on collaborative/integrated care models, with 25% focusing on CCM and 20% focusing on other chronic disease management models. The most common health conditions were diabetes (n = 22), depression (n = 16), heart disease (n = 12), aging (n = 11), and kidney disease (n = 8). Other single medical conditions were the focus of 22 reviews, multiple medical conditions of 59 reviews, and other or mixed mental health/behavioral conditions of 20 reviews. Some type of quality rating for individual studies was conducted in 126 (68%) of the reviews. Of reviews that assessed particular outcomes, 80% reported disease‐specific benefits, and 57% to 72% reported benefits for the other five types of outcomes. Outcomes did not differ by the model category, number or type of components, or target disease.ConclusionsAlthough there is a paucity of evidence for TBI per se, care model components proven effective for other chronic diseases may be adaptable for chronic TBI care.

Objective To reliably inform secondary prevention strategies and reduce morbidity and mortality after traumatic brain injury (TBI), we sought to understand the long-term risk of stroke after TBI in patients aged 40 years and older in comparison to age- and sex-matched referents from a population-based cohort. Materials and Methods TBI cases in Olmsted County, Minnesota from January 1, 1985 to December 31, 1999 were confirmed by manual review, classified by injury severity and mechanism, and non-head trauma was quantified. Each TBI case was matched to 2 sex- and age-matched population-based referents without TBI and with similar severity non-head trauma. Records of cases and referents were manually abstracted to confirm stroke diagnosis. Stroke events during initial hospitalization for TBI were excluded. Results In total, 1,410 TBI cases were confirmed, 61% classified as Possible TBI (least severe, consistent with concussive), with the most common mechanism being falls. There were 162 stroke events among those with TBI (11.5%), and 269 among referents (9.5%). Median time to stroke from the index date for those with TBI was 10.2 years (Q1-Q3 5.2 – 17.8), and for referents 12.1 years (Q1-Q3 6.2-17.3), P = 0.215. All-severity TBI was associated with increased risk of stroke (HR: 1.32, 95% CI: 1.06–1.63, P = 0.011), but only Definite TBI (consistent with moderate-severe) was associated with significant risk (HR: 2.20, 95% CI: 1.04-4.64, P = 0.038) when stratified by severity. Discussion/Conclusion By confirming TBI cases, stroke diagnoses, and injury severity classification using manual review with levels of accuracy not previously reported, these results indicate moderate-severe TBI increases long-term risk for stroke. These findings confirm the need to regularly assess long-term vascular risk after TBI to implement disease prevention strategies.