Challenges in the acute identification of mild traumatic brain injuries: results from an emergency department surveillance study.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To establish the proportion of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) diagnosis among people presenting to an emergency department (ED), to determine the accuracy of recorded ED diagnoses. We also aimed to describe challenges in mTBI case identification and its acute hospital management.

Design and setting

A retrospective chart review of all ED attendances to a major trauma hospital, over a 9-month period (June 2015-February 2016).

Participants

Adults aged 18-65 years consecutively presenting to an ED.

Primary outcome measures

Proportion of mTBI diagnosis among ED attendances (ie, confirmed mTBI based on the WHO criteria or indeterminate mTBI based on secondary criteria), and proportion of accurately recorded mTBI diagnosis by ED clinicians (ie, 'mTBI',

SUBMITTER: Pozzato I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7045153 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature