Traumatic brain injury (TBI), traumatic injuries to the brain, also called intracranial injury, or simply head injury, occurs when a sudden trauma causes brain damage. TBI can result from a closed head injury or a penetrating head injury and is one of two subsets of acquired brain injury (ABI). The other subset is non-traumatic brain injury (i.e. stroke, meningitis, anoxia). Parts of the brain that can be damaged include the cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, and brain stem (see brain damage). Symptoms of a TBI can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the extent of the damage to the brain. Outcome can be anything from complete recovery to permanent disability or death.
TBI is a major public health problem, especially among males ages 15 to 24, and among elderly people of both sexes 75 years and older. Children aged 5 and younger are also at high risk for TBI.
Each year in the United States:
approximately 1 million head-injured people are treated in hospital emergency rooms,approximately 270,000 people experience a moderate or severe TBI,approximately 60,000 new cases of epilepsy occur as a result of head trauma,approximately 230,000 people are hospitalized for TBI and survive,approximately 80,000 of these survivors live with significant disabilities as a result of the injury, andapproximately 70,000 people die from head injury.