Outcome

The outcome for a patient with a traumatic brain injury will depend on:

Age and health before the injury
Severity of the injury
Secondary complications

Minor Brain Injury

Many patients with very minor brain injuries make a full recovery and suffer very few or no long term effects.  However, there are a sterotyped set of symptoms that can occur and are collectively known as 'post-concussion syndrome'.  This includes:

Headache
Dizziness
Inpaired concentration
Impaired memory, fatigue,
Anxiety
Depression
Irritability
Indecisiveness
Impaired self confidence
Lack of drive
Impaired libido

These symptoms can persist for months or even years after an injury and consequently can be very disabling.

Moderate to severe brain injury

Unfortunately around 50% of patients die or remain in a comatosed or vegatative state after a severe brain injury.  Death at the time of injury is usually due to damage to the brain stem area which controls vital functions such as breathing and heart rate.  Patients that die later or are found to be 'brain dead' often suffer from severe secondary consequences as a result of their first injury.  Unfortunately doctors are unable to control these situations due to the delicate balance that exists in the human brain and a lack of therapeutics that can counteract the brains response to injury. 

In patients that do survive a moderate to severe brain injury, disability is unfortunately  very common.  Often patients will suffer deficits in one or more of the following:

Intellectual ability
Personality, mood and behaviour
Communication and speech
Vision
Sensory and motor function in the limbs (feeling and movement)
Post-traumatic Epilepsy

Due to the nature of these kinds of disabiliies many patients will find it hard to live independantly and will require a lot of extra help and support.  It is also very distressing for close family and friends to see such changes in a person so they too can benefit from outside help and support.

Please take a look at our homepage for useful links and information about getting help and support for people with brain injuries and their families.