Clinical and methodological challenges with assessing mild traumatic brain injury in the military.
BACKGROUND
A vast majority of traumatic brain injuries sustained by military personnel are mild in severity. In 2008, the United States Department of Defense officially mandated a screening program designed to identify deployment-related mild traumatic brain injuries and associated residual symptoms.


OBJECTIVE
This article reviews this screening program, illustrates the clinical and methodological challenges associated with screening, and makes recommendations for improving the process of screening for mild traumatic brain injuries and related symptoms.
Iverson
Grant L
GL
Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia; and British Columbia Mental Health & Addiction Services, Vancouver, Canada. giverson@interchange.ubc.ca
D000062:Accidents, Occupational; D000465:Algorithms; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis*; D020208:Brain Injury, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D008889:Military Personnel; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D014481:United States; D059030:United States Department of Defense; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs