CAUSES AND EVALUATION OF TBI:
EVALUATION
Patients with TBI require frequent evaluations and diagnostic tests, such
as:
-
Neurological Exam, which consists of simple questions and commands
aimed at assessing if the patient can open his/her eyes, speak, and understand
-
X-ray, to determine whether or not any bones are broken or fractured
and assess the status of the lungs.
-
CT Scan, a sophisticated X-ray that images the brain and other body
parts
-
MRI, another type of sophisticated X-ray that images the tissues of
the body
-
Angiogram, which enables the blood vessels in the brain to be examined
to determine if they have ruptured or are in spasm.
-
ICP Monitor, a small tube inserted through a small hole in the skull
to measure the pressure inside the brain, called the intracranial pressure
-
EEG, a test that measures the electrical activity of the brain.
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Based on Brain Injury Patient Care and
Education Manual, by Pinecrest Rehabilitation Hospital; Neuro section of
the Trauma Manual, Jackson Memorial Hospital; and Recovering from Head Injury;
a Guide for Patients, by Nova University Neuropsychology Service, and edited
for PoinTIS by the Louis Calder Memorial Library of the University of Miami
School of Medicine and the PoinTIS Advisory Committee, and on Rehabilitation
of Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury, NIH Consensus Statement 1998 Oct.
26-28.
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