Hemorrhages seen on brain images after mild traumatic brain injury may increase the risk of post-concussion syndrome: A Clinical Study

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) mostly develops the symptoms that may persist for over three months known as Post-Concussion Syndrome (PCS). However, the PCS potential risk for mTBI victims is not well-identified. Here, we investigated the putative risk factors of PCS.

In a cross-sectional study, we collected (HIS) the demographic, clinical, and radiological data using the hospital information system in 388 mTBI patients who passed at least 3 months since the onset of their injury and referred to Poursina hospital from March 2017 to December 2018. The patients were examined to diagnose PCS by a general physician using the phone interview via the Rivermead Post-concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ). The subjects were separated into groups with and without PCS. Data were analyzed by parametric t-test, Chi-square test and multiple logistic regression.

One-hundred ninety one out of 388 mTBI patients consented to complete the RPQ and around 59% of cases experienced PCS. There was no significant difference in the demographic variables and past medical history between groups. However, the previous psychological disease was particularly associated with PCS (P>0.043). Length of hospitalization, functional outcome during discharge, and post-resuscitation consciousness did not show any significant association with PCS (P<0.05). Interestingly, initial abnormal brain scan, fronto-temporal lesion, and accompanied hematoma (hemorrhages) were identified as risk factors of mTBI-induced PCS. The risk of PCS was found to increase by 7.2 times in mTBI patients demonstrated as an abnormality in their initial brain scans (P<0.001). A directly proportional relationship was found between the occurrence of the syndrome and the fronto-temporal lesion (P<0.017). Accompanied hematoma enhanced the risk of PCS by 2.6 times (P<0.04).

This study emphasized the significance of early brain scan data for the prediction of PCS and the necessity of proper follow-up care for the at-risk population. The reported data from this study might be applied as an objective trajectory to measure PCS in those who simulated PCS for the litigation.