Table 2.

Diagnostic criteria for mild TBI by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Special Interest Group on Mild Traumatic Brain Injury⁸⁾

A traumatically induced physiological disruption of brain function, as manifested by at least one of the following: any loss of consciousness any loss of memory for events immediately before or after the accident any alteration in mental state at the time of the accident (e.g., feeling dazed, disoriented, or confused) and focal neurologic deficit(s) that may or may not be transient But where the severity of the injury does not exceed the following: loss of consciousness of approximately 30 min or less after 30 min, an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13–15, and post-traumatic amnesia not greater than 24 hr This definition includes: the head being struck, the head striking an object, and the brain undergoing an acceleration/deceleration movement (i.e., whiplash) without direct external trauma to the head. It excludes stroke anoxia, tumor, encephalitis, etc. CT, MRI, electroencephalogram, or routine neurological evaluations may be normal. Due to the lack of medical emergency, or the realities of certain medical systems, some patients may not have the above factors medically documented in the acute stage. In such cases, it is appropriate to consider symptomatology that, when linked to a traumatic head injury, can suggest the existence of a mild TBI.