Exploring Traumatic Brain Injury in Children Essay -- Medicine

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability among children and adolescents (Yeates, 2005). The Center for Disease and Control (2010) reported an estimated 1.7 million individuals sustaining TBI annually with 51% of these injuries occurring during periods of cerebral development. Children (0-4 years), older adolescents (15-19 years) and older adults (65+ years) are most likely to sustain TBI (CDC, 2010). Brain injuries often lead to severe, pervasive, and potentially irreversible impairments in one’s neurological, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning (e.g., Wilde et al, 2012; Yeates, 2005). This analysis will examine the etiology, prevalence, and impact of traumatic brain injury in the developing brain of children. Classifications & Diagnosis of TBI Brain injuries can be classified into three different categories: mild, moderate, and severe TBI. Classification 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). This scale is based on a 15 point scale which measures individual’s level of consciousness based on verbal, motor, and eye responses to stimuli, as well as the overall social dependence on others. One study scrutinized the elements of the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) from 27,625 TBI cases in Taiwan. A correlation was found between the survival rate and certain eye (E), motor (M) and verbal (V) score combinations for GCS (scores of 6, 11, 12, ) that were discerned to be statistically significant. This illustrates that the fundamental elements comprising the Glasgow coma scale (E, M, & V) are predictive of the survival of TBI patients. The researchers assert that this observation is cli... ...sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020138309005609) Wilde, Merkley, Bigler, Max, Schmidt, Ayoub, McCauley, Hunter, Hanten, Li, Chu, Levin, Longitudinal changes in cortical thickness in children after traumatic brain injury and their relation to behavioral regulation and emotional control, International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience, Volume 30, Issue 3, May 2012, Pages 267-276, ISSN 0736-5748, 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2012.01.003. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0736574812000044) Yeates, Armstrong, Janusz, Taylor, Wade, Stancin, Drotar, Long-Term Attention Problems in Children With Traumatic Brain Injury, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 44, Issue 6, June 2005, Pages 574-584, ISSN 0890-8567, 10.1097/01.chi.0000159947.50523.64. (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890856709616336)