A car accident. A football equipment. An unfortunate fall. These things – and more – can cause head injury. Head injury can happen to anyone at any age and they can damage the brain.
This is how damage can happen: a sudden movement of the head and the brain can cause the brain to bounce or turn in the skull, injure brain cells, break blood vessels and create chemical changes. This damage is called a traumatic brain injury.
The American Food and Drug Administration continues to study TBI and encourages the development of medical devices to help diagnose and treat it.
Causes and symptoms of TBI
TBI is often caused by a bump, slap, shock or explosive explosion on the head, or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Not all hits to the head result in TBI. But when it happens, TBI can vary from mild – such as a short change in mental status or consciousness, to serious – such as a longer period of unconsciousness or major problems with thinking and behavior after injury.
About 75% of the TBIs that occur every year are mild. If a person has the symptoms of TBI after a blow to the head, the brain was injured. Mild TBIs always include a certain degree of brain injury.
Symptoms of mild TBI include:
- headache
- confusion
- dizziness
- Rank
- memory disorder
- Blurry vision
- Behavioral changes
Moderate and severe TBI can produce more symptoms, including:
- repeated vomiting or nausea
- unclear speech
- Weakness in the arms or legs
- Problems with thinking and learning
- dead
If you have any questions about TBI, talk to your healthcare provider. Everyone with signs of TBI must receive medical help as quickly as possible. Call 911 in emergency situations.
Diagnosis of TBI
Although some symptoms of mild TBI can be difficult to detect, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American College of Rehabilitation Medicine and some others have published guidelines for diagnosing TBI.
A medical exam is the first step to diagnose a potential brain injury. Assessment usually includes a neurological exam. This exam evaluates thinking, engine function (movement), sensory function, coordination, eye movement and reflexes.
Image tests, including CT scans and MRI scans, cannot detect all TBIs. But tests of these FDA -regulated medical devices can help healthcare providers to exclude some of the more serious brain injury. In particular, these scans can detect bleeding that are the result of the traumatic injury that requires immediate medical or surgical attention.
None of the medical devices that have been deleted or approved by the FDA is intended to be used alone without the judgment of a care provider that has been trained to diagnose and treat TBI. The FDA has not deleted or approved medical products that are intended to only diagnose or treat TBI without other diagnostic tests or treatments that are managed by a care provider.
Important safety bill: In 2019, the FDA issued a safety communication that includes recommendations and warnings against the use of medical devices that have not been approved by the FDA or have been rejected by the FDA for the assessment, diagnosis or management of a head injury or “brain shaker”, another name for mild traumatic brain injury.
Medical devices that have not been approved by the FDA or are covered by the FDA cannot diagnose a TBI correctly. A TBI cannot diagnose a TBI correctly diagnosed by the FDA and the FDA -related devices if they are used alone without other diagnostic tests managed by a care provider. An incorrect diagnosis can lead to:
- A wrong decision to have a person return to play or other activities with a brain injury
- A missed diagnosis of brain injury, or
- The lack of good treatment for a head injury
If you have a head injury, immediately seek medical attention. The FDA has not approved devices that can assess or diagnose a traumatic brain injury without an evaluation by a healthcare provider.
More FDA actions and research into TBI
The FDA continues to collaborate with the research and the clinical community to develop better -designed clinical studies, so that new medical products can be developed. And the FDA continues to assess medical devices and evaluate on safety and effectiveness.
More sensitive and objective ways to diagnose and detect mild TBI are needed. Timely diagnosis is important to prevent repetitive injury and help develop new therapies. That is because repetitive injury entails the risk on ‘second impact syndrome’. If people who have not recovered from a head injury, have a second head injury, this can lead to greater damage to the brain and more neurological deficits. And in some cases, repetitive injury can be fatal or cause dementia later in life.
The FDA scientists continue to conduct research into diagnostic tests for mild TBI. The scientists study TBI blood tests, special brain image, eye movements and brain wave patterns. They also investigate with the help of portable imaging devices to detect mild TBI.
What about the effects of TBI
Little can be done to turn the initial brain damage caused by trauma, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. But health care professionals will work to stabilize patients and try to prevent further damage. The severity of long -term effects depends on the severity of the injury, the location of the injury, the number of earlier brain injury and the age and general health of a patient.
Help to protect the brains of athletes against repeated small consequences for the head
At the beginning of 2021, the FDA authorized marketing of a device to help protect the brain against effects associated with repeated small effects on the head that is seen on special MRI scans.
The device, called the Q-Collar, is intended for athletes aged 13 and older. The device must be used with other protective sports equipment, which does not replace it. The Q-Collar does not require a prescription. It has not been shown that the use makes a faster return to TBI risk activities possible or to make activities possible with an increased risk of TBI or the use of increased force during sports activities.
Remember that if you have questions about a possible brain injury, talk to your care provider.
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