Auto Accident Injury

Published on: August 19, 2012

The ongoing Global War on Terror has resulted in an increase of traumatic brain injury

by Stephen Bilkis

The ongoing Global War on Terror has resulted in an increase of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, studies have noted. A number of them suffer from an explosive blast (bTBI). Physicians have decided this type of injury is distinct from other forms of brain trauma, such as penetrating TBI (pTBI) and closed head TBI (cTBI).

Explosive blast causes more than 60% of combat casualties in the two current major American campaigns, Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Lawyers. The main source of danger are the much talked-about IEDs – improvised explosive devices. The head is often injured in battle, accounting for 20% of all combat-related injuries in modern wars. When it comes to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the data is still coming in. So far, the data from hospitals in Nassau and Suffolk seems to closely match that of previous wars.

Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom are distinct from 20th century wars in the higher survival rate of those who are injured in combat, even those who suffer from TBI, according to doctors. An important factor to be considered is the use of body armor. Doctors used to believe that the severity of bTBI was due to pTBI from fragments of the explosive device or cTBI from the head striking an object after the victim was thrown.

Published on: August 14, 2012

The military also uses the same criteria to assess such injuries as civilians.

by Stephen Bilkis

Physicians currently do not have many distinctions between explosive blast traumatic brain injury (bTBI), closed head traumatic brain injury (cTBI) and penetrative traumatic brain injury (pTBI), according to doctors. The military also uses the same criteria to assess such injuries as civilians.

A 1993 definition from the Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine of TBI apples to bTBI when an explosive blast causes loss of consciousness, amnesia, or loss of focus. The severity is determined by how long the altered mental state lasts. Less than 5 minutes is mild, though it can lead into difficulties like headaches, confusion, and amnesia, as well as a difficulty to concentrate, altered mood, problems sleeping, and general anxiety. These symptoms usually go within a few hours or days.

Studies in Manhattan and Long island have discovered that even these mild cases could result in post-concussive syndrome which could happen days later. Government agencies are currently developing guidelines to manage this condition, which seems to respond to simple reassurance and specific treatments like non-narcotic analgesics, anti-migraine medication to treat headaches, and anti-depressants. Just as with civilian cTBI, the problem might last only a few weeks, but it might well last a year or more in some cases.

Published on: August 12, 2012

Organization when it comes to head injury may actually save a great many lives worldwide

by Stephen Bilkis

Organization when it comes to head injury may actually save a great many lives worldwide, according to studies. Improving the intensive care and pharmacological treatments in areas that already have the best treatment is not enough. Different avenues need to be pursued when it comes to head injuries so people can be treated away from the hospitals and the best facilities as quickly and correctly as possible.

Reporters in Nassau and Suffolk have known this for years and certain physicians have worked to act upon it. A group of British neurosurgeons have created guidelines for head injury management which has already been adopted throughout the UK, as well as some other places in the world. Some of these guidelines focus on children and they are constantly being updated. These guidelines have increased the number of hematomas detected in the areas that utilize them.

These guidelines are best applied in cities, towns, and rural areas that do not have access to local 24-hour CT scanning facilities for all head injuries. The guidelines can detect certain traumatic brain injuries and those who are determined to be at risk than then be sent to the appropriate facility where 24-hour scanning is available. Without this preliminary examination, some may develop brain injuries later on that could result in serious consequences and complications, doctors have learned. Following guidelines to discover the signs for brain injury may well save many lives, and even lead to ways to prevent lingering injury or symptoms in the long run.

Published on: August 10, 2012

It isn’t necessary to go into the entire pathology of primary brain damage here

by Stephen Bilkis

It isn’t necessary to go into the entire pathology of primary brain damage here. Suffice it to say that it is important to use primary brain damage to understand the initial level of consciousness of a patient and any neurological problems that might immediately be apparent, doctors in The Bronx and Brooklyn have determined.

Any changes that occur in the first few moments after injury should be understood whenever possible, so they can be treated as soon as possible. The damage caused directly the impact could very well be aggravated by secondary brain damage, resulting in effects ranging from concussion to coma and death, sources have learned. For example, a object that penetrates the skull will obviously cause direct damage, but it may also cause some loss of function or impairment. Any further loss of consciousness or brain function would be caused by secondary brain damage.

Experimental research has shown swelling occurs at the site of the injury within 15 minutes of traumatic brain injury. As hours pass, the injury can continue to worsen, due to misalignment of parts of the brain. Pressure inside the skull can increase, subjecting the brain to forces that will make matters even worse. Doctors have determined the first few minutes after head injury are vital. It takes trained medical professionals who know what to do with head injury to prevent what may seem like a straightforward medical problem from becoming something far worse, something that might cause lifelong impairment or even death.

Published on: August 7, 2012

The conscious level also helps to measure how serious the injury is

by Stephen Bilkis

The importance of the initial examination when it comes to closed head injury cannot be stressed enough, according to Manhattan doctors. The conscious level may be the best way for a clinician to assess brain function after a head injury. The level of consciousness is often tested early, as the medical professional tests the patient’s response to certain stimuli. Often, this assessment is taken before secondary brain injury sets in; if the injury seems to worsen, it may indicate there are problems with the brain that require a closer look. CT scanning helps with this process, but examination of the conscious level still remains a useful part of head injury observation, especially when the injury does not appear to be severe enough to require a scan at first impression.

The conscious level also helps to measure how serious the injury is, according to doctors. How conscious the patient is can help determine the extent of the injury, when coupled with how much time has passed since the impact. Other factors must be taken into account in these cases, however. Drugs, ethanol, lack of oxygen, and other factors can cause loss of consciousness, and these should also be ruled out.

Later evaluations can monitor and document the duration of loss of consciousness. This is yet another way to measure the severity of brain injury, studies have learned. These methods require away to measure impairments of consciousness, which fortunately medical professionals in Queens have had available for decades.

Published on: August 3, 2012

The whole method of determining consciousness is changed when it comes to infants and young children,

by Stephen Bilkis

The whole method of determining consciousness is changed when it comes to infants and young children, doctors have discovered. Often, the severity of a head impact is overestimated, but it’s much more common for the reverse to be true. When an infant cries because of a head impact, it is thought to indicate full consciousness, when in fact serious brain damage may have occurred.

The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) uses verbal and motor responses to assess consciousness, which is not possible for preverbal infants. Even after they learn to speak, a frightened but fully conscious child might not be able to fully aid in assessing his or her own state of mind. Doctors in The Bronx are well-aware of attempts to devise a scale that operates for children who are five years of age or less, so their needs can be better served.

Pediatricians and neurological nurses have studied these preverbal responses and are of great help in devising a scale that can assist in the treatment of small children. One such scale includes social, adaptive, vocal and motor responses, and even suck/cough responses, either spontaneous or induced by stimulus. Each of these was given a score from 0 to 4. Another scale was based off the Glasgow scale for eye opening and motor responses, but it had different criteria for the verbal portion, including such things as smiling, eye orientation, consolability, and interaction.

Published on: July 30, 2012

Non-impact generally means the head did not suffer a direct impact

by Stephen Bilkis

Many experiments have been done to determine if brain injury could occur without actual head impact, according to studies. An impact injury that deforms the skull may have some sort of mitigating factor because the skull distributes some of the force that would have otherwise been transferred directly to the brain, similar to the way a motorcycle helmet protects the head of the motorcyclist.

Non-impact generally means the head did not suffer a direct impact. The distinction is important to both forensic physicians and brain doctors. There have been a number of child abuse cases where the defense alleged brain damage was caused to infants by being shaken, rather than being struck by, or against, an object. Some studies have shown that shaking the torso of an infant was unlikely to harm the brain of the child, apart from a blow to the head. This is consistent with research from car crashes, which shows that force that comes from the torso to the head is unlikely to cause harm, even with the much greater force involved in a car crash.

Mathematical models in Nassau and Suffolk have been used to simulate the human body, in order to show how likely it was for injury to occur with differing impacts in a car crash. They tend to conclude that acceleration of the head is unlikely to reach a level that could cause brain injury, studies have learned. In a previous study of 400 fatally injured road users, there were no cases of brain injury without head impact.

Published on: July 28, 2012

Traumatic brain injury, not caused by flying objects, can be divided by physicians into primary and secondary types

by Stephen Bilkis

Traumatic brain injury, not caused by flying objects, can be divided by physicians into primary and secondary types, according to doctors in The Bronx. The force that causes the injury directly damages blood vessels, brain cells, and other parts of the brain, which in turn cause secondary damages like inflammation, and changes in neurochemistry and metabolism. The study of these secondary injuries has lead to a number of pharmacological therapies that can help limit this type of damage.

The primary damage is anything that is a direct result of the force that caused the injury, which deforms the tissue at the moment of injury, New York Brain Injury Lawyers have learned. This is blood vessel damage, damage to brain cells, and other brain injuries that have a different effect depending upon the parts of the brain that are harmed in the initial impact.

Secondary traumatic brain damage is a complication of the primary damage and often includes cerebral swelling, changes in pressure inside the skull, and infection. Secondary brain damage is sometimes reversible with treatment. Study of these injuries have enabled pharmacologists to develop therapies that can do a lot to mitigate the harm done by a head impact. These studies in Brooklyn have also shown Lawyers, among others, that brain injury is not a single type of injury, but one that has many different manifestations that can occur and combine in any number of ways.

Published on: July 25, 2012

Physically, the only real difference between the head being still or in motion when struck, is frame of reference

by Stephen Bilkis

Physically, the only real difference between the head being still or in motion when struck, is frame of reference. The real difference, doctors have learned, is that does not lie in if the head is in motion or not, but in such factors as the velocity of impact and the characteristics of the object that strike the head.

So, a high-speed crash will have a greater impact velocity than a low-speed crash – in most cases. In reality, researchers have learned, such details as the type of crash can be very significant. A high speed rollover can be relatively harmless, compared to collision with another vehicle or a fixed object, even if the speed is much lower. Even in crashes that seem very similar, it isn’t uncommon for one person to receive a major head injury, where another did not receive an impact to the head at all.

A major factor in head injury is the striking object itself. Given that the object does not pierce the skull as a bullet would, the important characteristics of the struck or striking object is how stiff it is and its general surface area. Doctors in Staten Island and Suffolk County.

Published on: July 23, 2012

The clinical assessment of head injury severity is commonly based on what is known as the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)

by Stephen Bilkis

The clinical assessment of head injury severity is commonly based on what is known as the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) according to doctors. A score of 3-8 means severe injury, 9-12 is a moderate brain injury, while 13-15 is mild head injury, based upon examination six hours after injury. The score is obtained by observing the patient’s impairment in speech, motor function, and eye movement. It does not, however, show what might have caused the impairment. Patients with the same GCS score may well have completely different causes for it, which means completely different treatment is necessary. Fatalities may even occur in patients who are not treated properly, even those with GCS scores above 9.

The damage to the brain is often vascular, studies have learned. The contusion index rates these injuries, giving them numerical values according to surface extend and depth. Another means to assess vascular injury is the hemorrhagic lesion score. This measures, in Westchester and Brooklyn, the total vascular damage in a traumatized brain by mapping macroscopic and microscopic evidence of bleeding on a diagram of sections of the brain, which are further divided into sectors.

Cell damage is a bit harder to quantify. The distribution and extent of such damage is not uniform or symmetrical, so systematic microscopic study of the brain is required to properly assess it. It has often been divided into three grades of severity, depending upon a number of criteria determined by examining both macroscopic and microscopic lesions.