OBJECTIVE The incidence of intracranial abnormalities after mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) varies widely across studies. This study describes the characteristics of intracranial abnormalities (acute/preexisting) in a large representative sample of head-injured patients who underwent CT imaging in an emergency department. METHODS CT scans were systematically analyzed/coded in the TBI Common Data Elements framework. Logistic regression modeling was used to quantify risk factors for traumatic intracranial abnormalities in patients with mild TBIs. This cohort included all patients who were treated at the emergency department of the Tampere University Hospital (between 2010 and 2012) and who had undergone head CT imaging after suffering a suspected TBI (n = 3023), including 2766 with mild TBI and a reference group with moderate to severe TBI. RESULTS The most common traumatic lesions seen on CT scans obtained in patients with mild TBIs and those with moderate to severe TBIs were subdural hematomas, subarachnoid hemorrhages, and contusions. Every sixth patient (16.1%) with mild TBI had an intracranial lesion compared with 5 of 6 patients (85.6%) in the group with moderate to severe TBI. The distribution of different types of acute traumatic lesions was similar among mild and moderate/severe TBI groups. Preexisting brain lesions were a more common CT finding among patients with mild TBIs than those with moderate to severe TBIs. Having a past traumatic lesion was associated with increased risk for an acute traumatic lesion but neurodegenerative and ischemic lesions were not. A lower Glasgow Coma Scale score, male sex, older age, falls, and chronic alcohol abuse were associated with higher risk of acute intracranial lesion in patients with mild TBI. CONCLUSIONS These findings underscore the heterogeneity of neuropathology associated with the mild TBI classification. Preexisting brain lesions are common in patients with mild TBI, and the incidence of preexisting lesions increases with age. Acute traumatic lesions are fairly common in patients with mild TBI; every sixth patient had a positive CT scan. Older adults (especially men) who fall represent a susceptible group for acute CT-positive TBI.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a public health problem. Outcome from mTBI is heterogeneous in part due to pre-injury individual differences that typically are not well described or understood. Pre-injury health characteristics of all consecutive patients (n=3023) who underwent head computed tomography due to acute head trauma in the emergency department of Tampere University Hospital, Finland, between August 2010 and July 2012 were examined. Patients were screened to obtain a sample of working age adults with no pre-injury medical or mental health problems who had sustained a "pure" mTBI. Of all patients screened, 1990 (65.8%) fulfilled the mTBI criteria, 257 (8.5%) had a more severe TBI, and 776 (25.7%) had a head trauma without obvious signs of brain injury. Injury-related data and participant-related data (e.g., age, sex, diagnosed diseases, and medications) were collected from hospital records. The most common pre-injury diseases were circulatory (39.4%-43.2%), neurological (23.7%-25.2%), and psychiatric (25.8%-27.5%) disorders. Alcohol abuse was present in 18.4%-26.8%. The most common medications were for cardiovascular (33.1%-36.6%), central nervous system (21.4%-30.8%), and blood clotting and anemia indications (21.5%-22.6%). Of the screened patients, only 2.5% met all the enrollment criteria. Age, neurological conditions, and psychiatric problems were the most common reasons for exclusion. Most of the patients sustaining an mTBI have some pre-injury diseases or conditions that could affect clinical outcome. By excluding patients with pre-existing conditions, the patients with known risk factors for poor outcome remain poorly studied.

Background: We evaluated the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) patients and investigated psychiatric comorbidity in relation to subjective symptoms and return to work (RTW). Methods: We recruited 103 MTBI patients (mean age 40.8 years, SD 3.1) prospectively from University Hospital. The patients were followed up for one year. The Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptom Questionnaire (RPQ) and Extended Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOSE) were administered one month after MTBI. Three months after MTBI, any psychiatric disorders were assessed using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders. Results: Psychiatric disorders were diagnosed in 26 patients (25.2%). The most common disorders were previous/current depression. At three months, there was no difference between patients with psychiatric disorders versus those without them in RTW (95.7% vs. 87.3%, p = 0.260) or at least in part-time work (100% vs. 94.4%, p = 0.245). In Kaplan–Meier analysis, the median time to RTW was 10 days for both groups. The median RPQ score was 13.0 (Interquartile range (IQR) 6.5–19.0) in patients with a psychiatric disorder compared to 8.5 (IQR 2.3–14.0) in those without one (p = 0.021); respectively, the median GOSE was 7.0 (IQR 7.0–8.0) compared to 8.0 (IQR 7.0–8.0, p = 0.003). Conclusions: Approximately every fourth patient with MTBI had a psychiatric disorder. These patients reported more symptoms, and their functional outcome measured with GOSE at one month after MTBI was worse. However, presence of any psychiatric disorder did not affect RTW. Early contact and adequate follow-up are important when supporting the patient’s return to work.

No abstract