Traumatic Brain Injury Literature Review

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A Review of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Diagnostics: Current Perspectives, Limitations, and Emerging Technology
This article is from Military Medicine and discusses some extremely relevant topics that
military personnel often face, and are being investigated by the Department of Defense. There are a few
technologies discussed in the article which have shown some promise in helping to diagnose mild
traumatic brain injuries (mTBI). The problem that is faced on numerous occasions is that diagnosing is
inaccurate due to the fact that the person does not realize what had happened, the details they remember
are not all correct, or eyewitness accounts are also skewed. Many symptoms displayed from these
injuries are common in other injuries or cognitive …show more content…

Soluble biomarkers is the first method, which are present in blood, saliva, and urine.
There are different levels of biomarkers present when an injury has occurred, so testing each of the
seven helps give an idea of trauma.
The second area of testing is advanced neuroimaging. These techniques go beyond the general
CT scans and MRIs, or are incorporated into them in a different way for a clearer picture of what is
being assessed. Then the third topic is quantitative EEG (qEEG), which is a further analysis of the
standard EEG test that is used for people with concussions.
I feel as if this article hit home in a way. My brother in law is retired military due to being
injured in Iraq, and while he did not have a TBI that I know of, he was unable to continue his military
service. He was pretty much just thrown away after injuring his back from an explosion hitting his
vehicle. As I said, I do not know if he had a TBI, but it could have very well been a possibility from the
impact of the explosion and being tossed around inside the vehicle. I know he suffers from PTSD, but
that is for another topic.
The main point I am trying to get at, is that this is very serious and there needs to be an …show more content…

The men and women affected by mTBIs or other injuries definitely
deserve the most accurate diagnoses and treatment possible. The discussion from class upset me when I
heard about some of the student's family members getting injured and having to deal with things that
they should not have to. Quoting exactly out of the summary of the article “They could enable medical
providers to improve identification of soldiers with concussion, guide therapy, and make better and
more objective return to duty decisions.” That sentence alone is huge, and carries a lot of weight behind
it. I look forward to seeing what the future holds, not only from a military perspective, but also a
civilian one, where these things could also serve a larger purpose.
APA Reference: Cook, G. A.,M.C.U.S.N., & Hawley, J. S.,M.C.U.S.A. (2014). A review of mild traumatic brain injury diagnostics: Current perspectives, limitations, and emerging technology. Military Medicine, 179(10), 1083-9. Retrieved from

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