CONCUSSION

Course overview

A CONCUSSION IS A "TRAUMATICALLY INDUCED TRANSIENT DISTURBANCE OF BRAIN FUNCTION." CONCUSSIONS ARE A SUBSET OF THE NEUROLOGIC INJURIES KNOWN AS TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES. TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES HAVE VARYING SEVERITY, RANGING FROM MILD, TRANSIENT SYMPTOMS TO EXTENDED PERIODS OF ALTERED CONSCIOUSNESS. GIVEN THE USUALLY SELF-LIMITED NATURE OF SYMPTOMS ASSOCIATED WITH A CONCUSSION, THE TERM MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY (MTBI) IS OFTEN USED INTERCHANGEABLY TO REFER TO A CONCUSSION, THOUGH CONCUSSIONS ARE TECHNICALLY A SUBSET OF MTBIS. PROGNOSIS IS USUALLY GOOD, AND MOST PATIENTS EXPERIENCE COMPLETE RESOLUTION OF SYMPTOMS. THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE ETIOLOGY, PRESENTATION, EVALUATION, AND MANAGEMENT OF CONCUSSIONS AND REVIEWS THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM'S ROLE IN EVALUATING, DIAGNOSING, AND MANAGING THE CONDITION.