Evaluating the Limitations of Post-Traumatic Amnesia

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Evaluating the Limitations of Post-traumatic Amnesia as a Severity Scale Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) account to a third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the U.S. with an estimated 1.7 million individuals sustaining TBI each year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Classifications of brain injury (e.g., mild, moderate and severe) is mostly done using the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) which has gained broad acceptance for the assessment of the severity of brain damage (Bauer & Fritz, 2004). Recent studies suggest that almost all patients with moderate or severe TBI have a period of recovery during which they are responsive but confused. This state is commonly referred to as the post-traumatic amnesia. Post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) is defined as “a failure of continuous memory” (Artiola et al., 1980; p.377). PTA is often cited as the best method for codifying the degree, level of recovery and outcome after a closed head injury (e.g., Artieola et al., 1980; Tate, Pfaff, & Jurjevic, 2000). PTA duration is a better indicator of outcome than early injury scales such as the GCS score (Richardson et al., 2009).This analysis will examine the limitations of the general PTA assessment scale, and investigate the benefits and limitations of both retrospective and prospective methods used to measure the duration of PTA. There is a frequent assumption that coma depth and extent, and PTA are concomitant—reflecting different facets of common mechanism (Wilson, Teasdale, Hadley, Wiedmann, & Lang, 1993). Researchers contend that when PTA and coma have been juxtaposed, their correlation has substantiated to be only moderately closer. Furthermore, they assert that previous studies exploring PTA and coma as predictors of outcome ... ... middle of paper ... ...reliable is it? http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC486693/pdf/jnnpsyc00001-0046.pdf McMillan, T.M., Jongen, E.L.M.M., Greenwood, and R.J. (1996). Assessment of post-traumatic amnesia after severe closed head injury: retrospective or prospective? Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 60, 422-427 http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/60/4/422.full.pdf Tate, R. L., & Pfaff, A., Jurjevic, L. (2000)Resolution of disorientation and amnesia during post-traumatic amnesia. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 68, 178-185 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1736763/pdf/v068p00178.pdf Wilson J.T.L., Teasdale, G.M., Hadley, D.M., & Wiedmann, K.D., Lang, D. (2012). Post-traumatic amnesia: still a valuable yardstick. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, 56, 198-201 http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/57/2/198.full.pdf

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