Citation

Gerhart KA, Mellick DC, Weintraub AH. J. Trauma 2003; 55(6): 1045-1053.

Affiliation

Craig Hospital, Rocky Mountain Regional Brain Injury Syste, Englewood, Colorado 80110, USA. kgerhart@craighospital.org

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/01.TA.0000044353.69681.96

PMID

14676649

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Most studies of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and violence are small, focus on one violent mechanism only, and are nonrepresentative. This large, population-based effort examines characteristics, circumstances of injury, treatment pathways, and outcomes of persons with TBI as a result of all types of violence, compares them with other TBI survivors, identifies a risk profile, and examines how a violent cause impacts later outcomes. METHODS: This study involved medical record abstraction and telephone survey at 1 year postinjury of a weighted sample of 2,771 Coloradans hospitalized with TBI between January 1, 1996, and June 30, 1999. RESULTS: People with violently incurred TBI are more likely to be young, male, members of minority groups, single, and premorbid alcohol abusers than other TBI survivors. At 1 year postinjury, they report less community integration and more headaches, confusion, and sensory and attentional disturbances. Predictors of these outcomes included age, gender, injury severity, and employment status. CONCLUSION: It appears that essentially the same factors that increase risk of sustaining a violent TBI negatively impact later outcomes as well.