[Six-month outcome of 795 patients admitted to Annecy hospital emergency department for mild traumatic brain injury].
BACKGROUND
Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) are common, but their outcomes are not very well known. A prospective study was conducted in Annecy hospital, France (CHRA), to assess the incidence of disorders 6 months after the injury and to identify risk factors for persistent disorders.


METHODS
All patients admitted to the emergency department after a mild brain injury between February 2006 and July 2007 were included. They were contacted by telephone 6 months later to detect (by questionnaire) the presence of persistent disorders. Patients reporting disorders were referred to the l ocal brain injury centre for a follow-up check-up.


RESULTS
Ninety three of the 795 patients contacted reported disorders: memory disorders (80%), sleep disorders (79%), headaches (65%), irritability (64%), speech disorders (64%) and concentration disorders (62%). Disorders at 6 months were independently associated with age, female gender, presence of headache at the initial examination and CT scan performed in the emergency department.


CONCLUSIONS
The disorders reported in this study were consistent with the results of previous studies. As these disorders are usually nonspecific, a case-control study or an exposed-unexposed study would be necessary to determine whether or not these disorders are linked to mTBI.
Cécile
C
Ricard
Pierre
P
Casez
Hélène
H
Gstalder
Suzanne
S
Mawazini
Vincent
V
Gauthier
Anne
A
Fontanel
Catherine
C
Avêque
François
F
Despierre
Bertrand
B
Thélot
Xavier
X
Courtois
D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005602:France / Q000453:epidemiology; D006261:Headache / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007508:Irritable Mood; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D010343:Patient Admission; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology