• Rael T Lange, Tracey A Brickell, Brian Ivins, Rodney D Vanderploeg, and Louis M French.
• Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, Bethesda, Maryland 20852, USA. rlange@dvbic.org
• J. Neurotrauma. 2013 Jun 1;30(11):958-69.

AbstractThis study examined postconcussion symptom reporting within the first 5 years after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Participants were 167 U.S. military service members (mean age, 27.6 years; 74.3% blast; 96.4% male) who were evaluated subsequent to injuries sustained in theater during Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom (92.8%) or from other combat-related operations. Participants completed the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist within 3 months of injury and at least one follow-up telephone interview at 6 (n = 46), 12 (n = 89), 24 (n = 54), 36 (n = 42), 48 (n = 30), and/or 60 months (n = 25) postinjury. Approximately half of the sample (49.7%) met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) symptom criteria for postconcussion disorder (PCD) at baseline. At all six follow-ups, 46.1-72.0% met DSM-IV criteria for PCD. However, only 20.4-48.0% reported persistent PCD from baseline to follow-up. A substantial minority had also improved (4.0-24.1%) or "developed" new symptoms (16.9-27.8%). Using regression analyses, baseline symptoms were somewhat predictive of PCD symptom reporting at follow-up, though this was not always reliable. Follow-up for all service members who sustain a combat-related mTBI in the context of polytrauma, regardless of the presence or absence of symptom reporting in the acute recovery stage, should be considered the rule, not the exception.

15 keywords...

hide…