HOW “MILD” IS MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (MTBI)? A PROSPECTIVE STUDY WITH ONE-YEAR FOLLOW-UP ON SYMPTOMATOLOGY, COGNITION, DISABILITY AND LIFE SATISFACTION AFTER HEAD INJURY.

Abstract

Objective: To determine cognitive functions, symptoms, disabilities and life satisfaction of patients with rst time concussed patients during acute injury and subsequent follow-up visits (3, 6 and 12 months). Materials and Methods: One hundred patients with single mTBI answered questionnaires about symptoms, disabilities (RHFUQ) and life satisfaction (LiSat-11) apart from neuropsychological evaluation at each subsequent follow-up (F/U) visits. Fifty healthy control subjects also underwent same tests for comparison with study group (mTBI patients). Results: At1year post-injury: 21% had persistent post-concussion symptoms (PCS), with statistically signicant difference between the number of symptoms at 1 year F/U visit for study group (4.8 ± 1.8) and the healthy control group (1.3 ± 0.8), (p= 0.03). The total RHFUQ score (13.0 ± 8.8) was statistically signicant compared to the control group (3.2 ± 2.3), (p <0.001). The number of disability items in the study group (5.4 ± 2.8) was also signicant compared with the healthy control group (1.1± 0.6) with p <0.001. The study group exhibited statistically signicant (p=0.01) lower level of life satisfaction (40.8 ± 9.5) compared with the control group (56.7 ± 11.5). In the study group, the number of cognitive tests with outcomes below cut-off limits (± 2SD) was statistically signicant compared with control group. Conclusion: The high frequency of persistent PCS, disabilities along with lower level of life satisfaction and decline in cognitive function appears to characterize single mTBI patients in our study at 1 year post-injury. This highlights the need to carefully evaluate a single mTBI for long-term implications.