Factors Influencing Cognitive Functioning Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in OIF/OEF Burn Patients

Abstract

To examine the relationship between mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), psychiatric conditions, pain medications, and injury severity on cognitive functioning in service members admitted to a burn unit. We hypothesize that psychiatric co-morbidity and pain medications will have a stronger relationship with cognitive dysfunction than mTBI diagnosis in this population. Method : Retrospective review of clinical evaluations ( n = 194) completed between September 2005 October 2007 on service members with burn injuries secondary to explosive munitions. Evaluations were completed during the acute stage of recovery (mean = 7.87 weeks). mTBI diagnosis ( n = 50) was made through a clinical interview using ACRM criteria [1]. Exclusion criteria included duration of posttraumatic amnesia greater than 24 hours ( n = 10); and inability to complete neurocognitive measures due to severe bimanual burns and/or amputations ( n = 17). Cognitive functioning was evaluated using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). Results : Subjects who sustained mTBI demonstrated significantly greater difficulty on the RBANS visuospatial and attention/processing speed indices. A hierarchical linear regression, using mTBI diagnosis, psychiatric diagnosis, time since injury, presence of pain medications, and measures of trauma severity as predictive factors, found that mTBI diagnosis had a significant, but small unique effect on cognitive functioning. Contrary to our hypothesis, psychiatric co-morbidity was not shown to have a significant effect on this population of acutely injured service members.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA629419

Entities

People

  • Carita Devillibis
  • Douglas B Cooper
  • Edan Critchfield
  • Jan Kennedy
  • Janyna M. Mercado-couch
  • Kathryn M. Gaylord
  • Rodney D. Vanderploeg

Organizations

  • United States Army Institute of Surgical Research

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Afghanistan Conflict
  • Amnesia
  • Analysis Of Variance
  • Brain Injuries
  • Burns
  • Demography
  • Diseases And Disorders
  • Education
  • Explosives
  • Health Services
  • Information Processing
  • Information Science
  • Iraqi-War
  • Morbidity
  • New York
  • Statistical Analysis
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Medicine
  • Psychology

Readers

  • Mental Health of Military Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Risk Factors, Prevalence, Symptoms, and Treatment.
  • Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Medicine.
  • Psychometric Testing or Psychological Assessment.