Abstract
Objective
The World Health Organization Collaborating Centre Task Force on Mild Traumatic Brain
Injury (MTBI) published its findings on the prognosis of MTBI in 2004. This is an
update of that review with a focus on deployed military personnel.
Data Sources
Relevant literature published between January 2001 and February 2012 listed in MEDLINE
and 4 other databases.
Study Selection
Controlled trials and cohort and case-control studies were selected according to predefined
criteria. After 77,914 titles and abstracts were screened, 13 articles were rated
eligible for this review and 3 (23%) with a low risk of bias were accepted. Two independent
reviewers critically appraised eligible studies using a modification of the Scottish
Intercollegiate Guidelines Network criteria.
Data Extraction
The reviewers independently extracted data from eligible studies and produced evidence
tables.
Data Synthesis
The evidence was synthesized qualitatively and presented in evidence tables. Our findings
are based on 3 studies of U.S. military personnel who were deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.
We found that military personnel with MTBI report posttraumatic stress disorder and
postconcussive symptoms. In addition, reporting of postconcussive symptoms differed
on the basis of levels of combat stress the individuals experienced. The evidence
suggests a slight decline in neurocognitive function after MTBI, but this decline
was in the normal range of brain functioning.
Conclusions
We found limited evidence that combat stress, posttraumatic stress disorder, and postconcussive
symptoms affect recovery and prognosis of MTBI in military personnel. Additional high-quality
research is needed to fully assess the prognosis of MTBI in military personnel.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
ICoMP (International Collaboration on MTBI Prognosis), MTBI (mild traumatic brain injury), PCL-C (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Check List–Civilian), PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder), TBI (traumatic brain injury)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article Info
Footnotes
Supported by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (grant reference 2010-ABI-MTBIWHO-871). The funder was involved neither in the design or preparation of the study protocol nor in the management of the project, analysis or interpretation of data, or the preparation of the final article.
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
The findings and conclusions in this research are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily represent the official views or policies of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or any agency of the United States government. Inclusion of individuals, programs, or organizations in this article does not constitute endorsement by the United States government.
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
