Abstract
Around 3.8 million traumatic brain injuries (TBI) occur every year from athletic participation. The signs and symptoms of each specific head injury can be difficult to delineate. Further, treatment for each injury varies significantly. While most sports-related head injuries are not life-threatening, prompt recognition of acute head injury with expedited care leads to better outcomes. Current medical education lacks in awareness of common sports-related head injuries and the acute management of these injuries. Due to this, a literature review was originally crafted to provide medical students with a brief education in the recognition, diagnosis, and acute management of sports-related head injuries. The objective is to provide a “survival guide” style of reference for medical students, but may also be useful for all primary care providers, first line responders, and athletic trainers. Current guidelines and primary studies were investigated to delineate common head injuries and their associated medical management. With this data, we developed a brief, overview regarding common head injuries that occur in sport-related activities. In addition to listing the most common brain injuries, we elaborate on how to develop acute care plans specific to each type of injury. The treatment plans could be enhanced via stratification into sex and age subcategories, as well as through studies including data regarding long-term observation.
Highlights
BackgroundAn estimated 38 million children and 170 million adults annually participate in organized sports [1]
It is gravely important that medical students, first-line responders, athletic trainers, and primary care providers be equipped with the knowledge of traumatic brain injury and for those individuals we provide this “survival guide” style reference as a brief foundational overview of traumatic brain injury
We summarized the most common diagnoses and the related features of each type of head injury that could be acquired during athletic participation
Summary
An estimated 38 million children and 170 million adults annually participate in organized sports [1]. Current guidelines state patients with hematoma volume on imaging found to be greater than 30 cm should be surgically evaluated regardless of clinical presentation. Patients presenting with hematoma volume less than 30 cm, midline shift of less than 5 mm, clot thickness < 15 mm, and GCS > 8 can be ruled out for surgical evaluation and managed non-operatively [12]. The classic imaging signature for acute SDH is the “crescent” shaped hematoma not confined to suture limitations in comparison to EDH Common locations for this type of injury include the middle cranial fossa and frontoparietal regions. Any patient that has a GCS decrease greater than 2 from injury to medical attention, along with any pupil abnormalities, should be surgically evaluated Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) a traumatically induced brain injury that causes a decrease in brain function and at least one of the following: 1. Any period of loss of consciousness
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