Citation

Bigler ED, Karlawish J. Neurology 2012; 78(19): 1454-1455.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology (E.D.B.) and Neuroscience Center (E.D.B.), Brigham Young University, Provo, UT; Department of Psychiatry (E.D.B.) and The Brain Institute of Utah (E.D.B.), University of Utah, Salt Lake City; and Departments of Medicine and Medical Ethics (J.K.), Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, Penn Memory Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1212/WNL.0b013e318256c022

PMID

22496193

Abstract

Progress in treating acute, critical, and often fatal brain injury has been substantial. Prior to modern emergent medical and neurosurgical care, patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) often did not survive.(1) Now, they do and the result is a growing "silent epidemic."(2) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s conservative estimate of the annual incidence of TBI is 1.7 million and TBI is the "signature" injury of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, where estimates range as high as 300,000.(3) At least 5 years postinjury, more than half of patients may remain disabled.(4) This issue of Neurology® adds to our understanding of this disability. The most comprehensive investigation of decision-making capacity in TBI patients shows that across all levels of severity, survivors of TBI have impaired ability to make medical decisions.(5).

Language: en