title: Alcohol abuse and recovery after head injury.
abstract: The clinical observation of a turbulent recovery phase in the alcohol abusers among the head injured patients was studied. Various parameters of severity such as duration of hospital stay, length of coma, post-traumatic amnesia, focal neurological deficits, presence of fracture and the behaviour problems during recovery were studied. Behaviour problems and the length of hospital stay were found to be more in the abuser group than in the control population. It is concluded that the behaviour problems contribute to the disturbed recovery process in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Investigator in Psychiatry, ICMR Project on 'Adjustmental problems of head injured patients', Dept. of Neurosurgery, Madurai Medical College, Madurai.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sabhesan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Natarajan