Tools Used to Treat TBI

TBI, traumatic brain injury, is often a critical condition that requires prompt treatment. Patients suffering from severe TBI will need emergency care, medication and intense rehabilitation to recover. How well a TBI patient recovers will depend on the severity of the injury, the amount of time between when the injury occurred and when emergency medical care was provided and followup rehabilitation care.

What is TBI?

• Traumatic brain injury is any type of injury that causes sudden damage to the brain. Examples of traumatic brain injuries include a foreign object piercing the skull and the brain, such as a gunshot wound to the head, and trauma sustained to the head from a fall or accident. TBI can also occur from infections caused by viruses or bacteria which attack the brain, such as meningitis, as the result of a stroke or even from hazardous exposure to chemicals like insecticides.

Emergency Treatment Tools

• Emergency tools used to treat moderate to severe TBI include stabilizing the patient through intravenous hydration to prevent shock, dressing any additional wounds and providing oxygen, ensuring that blood flow to the brain is not interrupted, monitoring inflammation through computed tomography or CT scans and prescribing necessary medications.

  Surgery may also be a necessary emergency stabilization tool to address TBI in order to remove blood clots, repair fractures to the skull or alleviate pressure within the brain. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke reports that about half of all severely injured TBI patients will require surgery of some kind.

Medication

• Medications which may be prescribed for a TBI include diuretics, anti-seizure medications, coma-inducing medications and medications to address behavior issues which can arise after a TBI including aggression, depression and confusion.

  Diuretics are prescribed to help reduce pressure in the brain; coma-inducing medications are prescribed to try to preserve brain function by decreasing the amount of oxygen the brain needs; and seizure medications are prescribed to prevent seizures -- a common side effect from traumatic brain injuries.

Rehabilitation

• Rehabilitation is a key tool for TBI recovery. It is during the rehabilitation period when patients can begin to recover cognitive abilities which may have been lost as the result of their injury. A complete traumatic brain injury rehabilitation program will include specialists from many different professions, including an occupational therapist, a speech and language pathologist, a physical therapist, a psychiatrist and a case manager. The case manager will work with the patient and the family to create a network of physical and emotional support for everyone affected by the injury.