Return to Combat Duty after Concussive Blast Injury

Little data exist regarding the acute assessment of blast concussion and the course of recovery in the combat zone, as most research has examined service members long after they have returned home. This manuscript examined a case series of 377 service members seen for acute concussion evaluation fol...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Archives of clinical neuropsychology Vol. 27; no. 8; pp. 817 - 827
Main Authors:	KENNEDY, Carrie H, PORTER EVANS, J, CHEE, Shawnna, MOORE, Jeffrey L, BARTH, Jeffrey T, STUESSI, Keith A
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford Oxford University Press 01-12-2012
Subjects:	Adult Adult and adolescent clinical studies Afghan Campaign 2001 Anxiety disorders. Neuroses Biological and medical sciences Blast Blast Injuries - complications Blast Injuries - psychology Brain Concussion - complications Brain Concussion - diagnosis Brain Concussion - psychology Cognitive ability Combat Disorders - complications Combat Disorders - diagnosis Combat Disorders - psychology concussion Consciousness Data processing Headache Humans Injuries Injuries of the nervous system and the skull. Diseases due to physical agents Injury Severity Score Male Medical sciences Military Personnel - psychology Organic mental disorders. Neuropsychology Post-traumatic stress disorder Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry Psychopathology. Psychiatry Stress Stress, Psychological - complications Stress, Psychological - diagnosis Stress, Psychological - psychology Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents Human Fighting Evaluation Nervous system diseases Cognitive disorder Anxiety disorder Neuropsychological test Assessment Psychometrics Posttraumatic stress disorder Explosions Recovery Disorder Posttraumatic stress Cerebral disorder Traumatic Brain Injury Head injury Central nervous system disease Head trauma
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Little data exist regarding the acute assessment of blast concussion and the course of recovery in the combat zone, as most research has examined service members long after they have returned home. This manuscript examined a case series of 377 service members seen for acute concussion evaluation following medical evacuation from the battlefield in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Of these, 111 were assessed for concussion prior to their return to the continental USA for other severe physical injuries. Of the remainder, and when comparing those who returned to duty (RTD)/recovered from concussion in the combat zone and those who did not, data indicate that those who did not RTD were older and were more likely to endorse symptoms of combat stress. Quicker recovery times were associated with less severe headaches and fewer acute symptoms at the time of injury as well as the absence of combat stress reaction. Variables that were not associated with RTD and/or recovery were Military Acute Concussion Evaluation (MACE) cognitive scores and whether or not individuals suffered loss of consciousness. While MACE scores were not associated with recovery, they were deemed clinically useful as a part of a serial concussion evaluation if the initial MACE was given within 6 h of the blast. Implications for battlefield concussion assessment and management as well as future research directions are discussed.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-2 ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:	0887-6177 1873-5843
DOI:	10.1093/arclin/acs092