Association between combat stress and post-concussive symptom reporting in OEF/OIF service members with mild traumatic brain injuries.

Objective: The relationship between combat stress and post-concussive symptoms in service members with mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) is poorly understood. It was hypothesized that the co-occurrence of combat stress would have a significant effect on the severity of post-concussive complaints, specifically on emotional and cognitive symptoms.

Methods: Four hundred and seventy-two combat-deployed service members with mTBI completed self-report inventories of post-traumatic stress and post-concussive symptoms.

Posttraumatic stress symptoms in OIF/OEF service members with blast-related and non-blast-related mild TBI.

Purpose: To examine the proportion and severity of stress-related symptoms in U.S. service members with mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI) received during deployment to Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) or Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

Symptoms in military service members after blast mTBI with and without associated injuries.

Traumatic combat events can lead to neurobehavioral and stress-related symptoms among military troops. Physical injuries received during combat are associated with increased symptom report. The effect of a concurrent mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) on this relationship is unknown and forms the basis for this report.

Routine TBI screening following combat deployments.

A precise estimate of the rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in returning combat troops is difficult to establish given the challenges of screening large numbers of military personnel returning from combat deployments. The Brief Traumatic Brain Injury Screen (BTBIS) was implemented in the First Marine Expeditionary Force between 2004 and 2006. Nine percent of the 7909 marines who completed the BTBIS were considered having a positive screen; that is, they endorsed at least one injury mechanism and indicated a change in mental status at the time of injury.