CDC Grand Rounds: Reducing Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: David W Wright, Emory University; Arthur Kellermann, RAND Corporation; Lisa C. McGuire, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control; Bin Chen, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Tanja Popovic, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Language: English
• Date: 2013-07-12
• Publisher: CENTERS DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: All material in the MMWR Series is in the public domain
• License: Creative Commons Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal
• Final Published Version (URL): https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6227a2.htm
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report
• ISSN: 0149-2195
• Volume: 62
• Issue: 27
• Start Page: 549
• End Page: 552
• Keywords: Public, Environmental & Occupational Health; HEAD-INJURY; GUIDELINES; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Science & Technology
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Health Care Management; Health Sciences, Public Health

Abstract

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by a bump, blow, jolt, or penetrating wound to the head that disrupts the normal functioning of the brain. In 2009, CDC estimated that at least 2.4 million emergency department visits, hospitalizations, or deaths were related to a TBI, either alone or in combination with other injuries. Approximately 75% of TBIs are mild, often called concussions. Children, adolescents, and older adults are most likely to sustain a TBI. Nearly one third (30.5%) of all injury deaths included a diagnosis of TBI. In addition, an estimated 5.3 million U.S. residents are living with TBI-related disabilities, including long-term cognitive and psychologic impairments. A severe TBI not only affects a person's life and family, but also has a large societal and economic toll. The economic costs of TBIs in 2010 were estimated at $76.5 billion, including $11.5 billion in direct medical costs and $64.8 billion in indirect costs (e.g., lost wages, lost productivity, and nonmedical expenditures). These data underestimate the national burden because they include neither TBIs managed in nonhospital settings nor >31,000 military personnel diagnosed with TBI and treated in the U.S. Department of Defense or Veterans Administration medical systems in 2010.