Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) in the Military

Abstract

On January 7, 2020, the Department of Defense (DOD) reported that the Islamic Republic of Iran launched a number of ballistic missiles at certain Iraqi military bases hosting U.S. and coalition military forces. These forces utilize Iraqi military bases to support counter-terrorism operations within the region, including military actions against the Islamic State under Operation Inherent Resolve. DOD initially reported no U.S. or coalition casualties, then later stated that 34 U.S. servicemembers assigned to these locations were subsequently diagnosed with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) resulting from the missile blasts. On February 10, 2020, numerous media sources reported that DOD revised its count to 109 servicemembers diagnosed, with 76 of those members already having returned to duty. These numbers may increase in the future as servicemembers are further assessed.This Insight provides a brief overview of DOD policies and programs to screen, assess, and manage mTBI, which includes deployment-related concussions.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 13, 2020
Accession Number
AD1104678

Entities

People

  • Bryce H. Mendez

Organizations

  • Congressional Research Service

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Ballistic Missiles
  • Blast Injuries
  • Brain Injuries
  • Combat Casualty Care
  • Concussion
  • Congress
  • Counterterrorism
  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of Veterans Affairs
  • Disability Administration
  • Governments
  • Health Care
  • Health Services
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • United States Government
  • Wounds And Injuries

Fields of Study

  • Psychology

Readers

  • Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Medicine.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.
  • Rehabilitation and Prosthetic Care for Military Service Members and Veterans with Limb Loss or Disability.