title: Traumatic Brain Injury Incidence, Clinical Overview, and Policies in the US Military Health System Since 2000.
abstract: Exposure to explosive armaments during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom contributed to approximately 14% of the 352 612 traumatic brain injury (TBI) diagnoses in the US military between 2000 and 2016. The US Department of Defense issued guidelines in 2009 to (1) standardize TBI diagnostic criteria; (2) classify TBI according to mechanism and severity; (3) categorize TBI symptoms as somatic, psychological, or cognitive; and (4) systematize types of care given during the acute and rehabilitation stages of TBI treatment. Polytrauma and associated psychological and neurologic conditions may create barriers to optimal rehabilitation from TBI. Given the completion of recent combat operations and the transition of TBI patients into long-term care within the US Department of Veterans Affairs system, a review of the literature concerning TBI is timely. Long-term follow-up care for patients who have sustained TBI will remain a critical issue for the US military.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.|2 The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA.|3 Department of Orthopaedics, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Swanson
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.|2 The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Brad M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Isaacson
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.|4 National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Cherina M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cyborski
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.|4 National Intrepid Center of Excellence, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA.|5 Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Louis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: French
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.|6 Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Wounded, Ill and Injured, US Navy, Falls Church, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Jack W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Tsao
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Center for Rehabilitation Sciences Research, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.|7 Department of Rehabilitation, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Paul F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Pasquina
mesh_terms: D055826:Afghan Campaign 2001-; D000368:Aged; D000070642:Brain Injuries, Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D054542:Iraq War, 2003-2011; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008889:Military Personnel; D011050:Policy Making; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: TBI; blast injury; classification; military; traumatic brain injury