Phineas Gage Suffers a Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury occurs when a person is hit in the head with a blunt force. This significant force to the head can happen playing recreational sports, on the playground, being in a car or motorcycle accident, falling down at home and your head impacting something, a blast or explosion. Traumatic brain injuries are also the leading cause of fatality rate and disability, especially in children, young adults and elderly. TBI is a devastating condition that affects millions of people nationwide, because it can affect the nervous system permanently, it also messes with the neurological, musculoskeletal, cognitive and much more. TBI force a family to deal with not just the physical disability, with the behavioral and emotional roller

The purpose of this case study is to examine the specific case study of a 40 year old male who suffered a traumatic brain injury as the result of a fall from a roof. For future reference the term "Traumatic Brain Injury" will be abbreviated here as TBI and "Intracranial Pressure" as ICP. In this study we will explore the medical findings that are common in such an injury and how they relate to the Paramedic in the field. The specificity of this case will be broken down to define relevant terminology and findings that were present to the paramedics that responded to this call. Lastly, TBI's will be explored and discussed for their relevance in the field, contributing factors and comorbidities as they relate to paramedicine.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a type of injury that is a critical public health and socio-economic problem. TBI is a leading cause of death and disability in both children and adults [5]. The Centers for Disease Control and

Attention for traumatic brain injury has grown over the years and programs have been created to help try and prevent the injuries. As this is an injury to the brain the literature is vast with insight into what part of the brain injured resulted in what change in the individual. Children and athletics have been the main focus in recent years for studies as research have shown that undiagnosed injuries can have long lasting effects.

Some of the long term effects that are stated in the article Long Term Effects of Brain Injuries are server problems with attention and short-term memory, having difficulty performing daily tasks, and feeling “slower” overall are just some of the thing that I’ve learn to deal with on a day-to-day basis.

Medical and technological advances have led to greater survival rates in individuals suffering from various illness and injury throughout history. This includes individuals who suffer traumatic and nontraumatic brain injuries. Approximately 1.5 million people in the United States sustain a brain injury each year with the survival rate of over 90 percent making brain injury the leading cause for disability in the United States. (Mysiw, Bogner, Corrigan, Fugate, Clinchot, & Kadyan 2006). Cognitive, physical, sensory and behavioral changes are widely noted in individuals in the months and years following a brain injury. However, the psychosocial, psychological and emotional effects of these injuries are less discussed and therefore these aspects can be overlooked when anticipating a course of treatment. Individuals who sustain acquired brain injuries experience significant, lasting impairment in the psychosocial, psychological and emotional aspects of their lives and better understanding of these issues can lead to better treatment and coping skills for these individuals.

Traumatic brain injury is any damage caused to the brain. Individuals with TBI may show aphasia-like symptoms, yet the characteristics of TBI include mostly cognitive processes deficits. Those characteristics include disrupt orientation, attention, memory, visual processing, and executive functions problems. Penitents with TBI experience a blackout that can last anywhere between a few minutes up to months and usually wake up confused and disoriented. They do not have any recollection of the events that occurred. In addition to the common characteristics mentioned earlier, TBI patients exhibit communication deficits that relate to poor cognitive functioning such as problems with word finding, grammatical, spelling, reading, and writing. The cause of TBI is very straightforward, unlike SLI or ASD. Any injury to the head, for example motor vehicle accidents, falls, blast trauma, and more, can cause a TBI. These in turn can cause damage to multiple areas of the brain and impair motor, speech, language, and cognitive functions as discussed. It is important to note that unlike ASD that usually

Traumatic brain injuries can have many effects that vary in both severity and symptoms. CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy is one effect of a TBI. CTE was discovered by Dr. Bennet Omalu. In a CNN article, the authors state

A traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) occurs when the brain is somehow injured, rattled, or wounded from an external source of force. The means of acquisition and the severity of TBIs are unique to each patient; therefore, symptoms and rehabilitation can vary greatly depending on the patient’s condition following the incident and how they sustained the injury. The severity of a TBI is generally classified into one of three categories: mild, moderate, or severe, and this type of diagnostic criteria influences how a patient with TBI is treated by medical staff and rehabilitation specialists. TBIs can affect a specific part of the brain that was directly impacted, leaving the patients with only one or a few areas of impairment, or the damage can

Rehabilitation centers are designed to help “restore some or all of a patient’s physical, sensory and mental capabilities that were lost due to injury, illness or disease” (Farlex, 2012). Many doctors will prescribe rehabilitation services after a patient has suffered through an amputation, neurological issues, a variety of orthopedic injuries, spinal cord injuries, stroke or other traumatic brain injuries.

Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) in the military are a tangible threat to the men and women of the United States military. Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have created a spotlight on this injury, as the “signature injury”. Specific criteria makeup the definition of a TBI, which is certain symptoms and severity levels of those symptoms. Due to the capacity of this injury, the Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress have created mandates, along with treatment methods, and the ability to achieve an end goal of aiding an individual’s complete recovery.

For a long time, traumatic brain injury has been a large contributor to disabilities and death within the United States. Around 30 percent of these injuries lead to death, and those who survive these injuries may suffer from short-term side effects to long-term disabilities. It can range from a minor head injury to a major injury that you might suffer from a motorcycle accident.

The disabilities that result from moderate to severe TBI differ depending on the area of injury, but they may include difficulties in speech, coordination, bilateral function, memory, complex thinking, and other areas (Murrey, 2006). Emotional and social areas are also affected by TBI due to changes in familial roles, lowered self-esteem, and hopelessness brought on by the injury (Murrey, 2006). Because of this, suicide rates in these patients are remarkably high, with 33% of patients at risk (León-Carriòn et al., 2005). Recovery in TBI patients may occur spontaneously throughout the two years following the trauma (León-Carrión et al., 2005). Beyond this point, remaining disabilities are usually permanent (León-Carrión et al., 2005).

Traumatic Brain Injury is otherwise known as TBI. “Traumatic brain injury, a form of acquired brain injury, occurs when sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. TBI can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue” (NINDS, 2010). There are two main types of TBI, closed head injuries such as head hitting a windshield and penetrating head injuries such as a gunshot wound. As reported by the Global Neuroscience Initiative Foundation,” The severity of traumatic brain injuries is often assessed using the Glasgow Coma Scale, with scores ranging from 3 to 15. The higher the score,

Here, there is a clear sense in which the process of rehabilitation involves assisting the individual to get ‘back to normal’. He or she may need to re-learn motor skills, such as how to walk (in the case of a broken limb); or seek to recover cognitive skills, such as memory (in the case of a head injury). In either scenario, rehabilitation implies returning to a former, favorable state.” (Robinson, 2009).