Almost half of adults with a head injury suffer long term disability

Many adults are admitted to hospital after a head injury but little is known about the incidence of subsequent disability because studies of outcome have focused on selected groups. Thornhill et al (p 1631) identified a cohort of young people and adults admitted to hospital with head injury and followed up groups representative of initially mild, moderate, and severe head injuries to determine outcome one year later. They found a high frequency of disability after mild as well as moderate and severe injuries. They estimated an annual incidence of persisting disability in young people and adults of 100-50 per 100 000 populationmuch higher than previous estimates. The authors believe that underappreciation of the frequency of problems after head injuries contributes to inadequate services after discharge.

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Relevant Article

Disability in young people and adults one year after head injury: prospective cohort study

Sharon Thornhill, Graham M Teasdale, Gordon D Murray, James McEwen, Christopher W Roy, and Kay I Penny
BMJ 2000 320: 1631-1635. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]