title: Frequency of Factors that Complicate the Identification of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Level I Trauma Center Patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Determine the frequency of factors that complicate identification of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in emergency department (ED) patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Chart review.
  
  
  METHODS
  Records of 3,042 patients (age 18-45) exposed to a potential mechanism of mTBI were reviewed for five common complicating factors and signs of mTBI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most patients (65.1%) had at least one complicating factor: given narcotics in the ED (43.7%), on psychotropic medication (18.4%), psychiatric diagnosis (15.3%), alcohol consumption near time of admission (14.2%), and pre-admission narcotic prescription (8.9%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings highlight the frequency of these confounding factors in this population. Future research should identify how these factors interact with performance on assessment measures to improve evidence-based mTBI assessment in this population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
authors.forename: Robyn E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Furger
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI ; Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
authors.forename: Lindsay D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Brooke Lerner
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI ; Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: McCrea
keywords: assessment; comorbidities; concussion; confounding variables; emergency department