What can a brain injury lead to? The consequences that arose after a few years will be presented below. We will also tell you what degrees of this injury exist and what symptoms they are characterized by.
Basic information
Bruise of the brain, the consequences of which are indicated below, is a traumatic damage to the structures of the mentioned organ, which is formed during the application of mechanical force. According to experts, as a result of a bruise, absolutely any parts of the brain can be affected, but most often such injuries occur on the poles of the frontal, as well as the lower basal parts of the temporal lobes.
Symptoms of such an injury is formed from a combination of vegetative, cerebral and focal signs. Their durability and severity depends on the strength of the blow.
What can result in a brain injury? The consequences after receiving such an injury most often do not occur, and also do not manifest themselves in any way. However, in some cases, traumatic damage to brain structurescan make a person disabled.
Thus, we can safely say that a brain contusion is a kind of trauma to the skull and brain, in which their main tissues are damaged, that is, some foci of gray matter destruction are formed. In this case, the mentioned organ is destroyed irreversibly.
Reason for development
We will tell you below about the consequences after a brain injury.
It should be noted that damage to brain structures can occur with any injury. However, most often such a pathology is formed as a result of a car accident or a banal fall from a great height.
How is it formed?
How is a brain contusion formed (the consequences of an injury can be so serious that an injured person can remain disabled for life)? At the point of impact of mechanical force, an impact zone arises, where the pressure rises. It is in this area that the primary damage to the structures of nerve cells, as well as blood vessels, is formed. In this case, an anti-shock zone appears in the opposite side, which is characterized by reduced pressure. By the way, in this area the defeat can be more extensive than in the place where the force is applied.
After a bruise in the brain, the processes of swelling of the brain tissue and its edema develop, as well as the processes of blood supply are disturbed. This significantly worsens the patient's condition and requires immediate medical attention.
Types of injury
In modern medicinethe injury in question is divided into 3 grades:
- Mild brain contusion (consequences are not so significant).
- Medium bruise (injuries can cause consequences, but not always).
- Severe brain injury (consequences can be dire).
All of the listed forms have their own clinical features, and are also characterized by a different prognosis. Consider them in more detail.
Mild brain contusion: consequences of injury
Such a bruise has the best prognosis for recovery and does not pose a threat to the patient's life. It is characterized by:
- Loss of consciousness, lethargy, drowsiness, delayed reactions, memory loss.
- Vomiting, dizziness, changes in heart function.
- High blood pressure, slight fever, nausea.
- Neurological symptoms (non-severe nystagmus, tremor of the eyeballs, anisocoria, lack of pupillary response to light, decreased muscle tone, anisoreflexia).
- Meningeal symptoms (tight neck muscles, Brudzinski's and Kernig's symptoms).
The duration of the existence of such symptoms usually does not exceed 3 weeks. At the same time, the forecast for recovery is favorable. However, it can be very difficult for specialists to distinguish between a mild brain injury and a concussion. There are no serious consequences for such an injury.
Medium bruise
This injury is characterized by more severe tissue damagebrain. It is almost always associated with a skull fracture, resulting in subarachnoid hemorrhage. The main symptoms of this degree of brain contusion are:
- Underestimation of the severity of one's own condition, loss of consciousness for 1-3 hours, episodes of psychomotor agitation.
- Amnesia (retrograde, congrade, anterograde).
- Severe headaches, severe dizziness.
- Repeated vomiting, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, increased respiration, nausea, fever.
- Severe focal neurological symptoms (changes in muscle tone, paresis, loss of sensation in the limbs, pathological hand and foot symptoms, strabismus, facial distortion, spontaneous nystagmus, epileptic seizures, speech disturbance).
- Meningeal symptoms.
Symptoms of such a bruise last from several weeks to two months. Over time, neurological symptoms gradually disappear. However, a number of changes that occur immediately after an injury may be irreversible.
Symptoms and effects of severe brain injury
Severe traumatic brain injury poses a serious threat to the life of the patient. According to statistics, about 35-50% of all cases of such brain injuries end in death. Patients who have suffered a similar injury recover for a very long time (more than one month). Unfortunately, this process is not always complete.
Injury of this severityrecognized by the following symptoms:
- Loss of consciousness. In this case, a coma can be observed, after which the patient has an altered consciousness for a very long time, like a stupor or stupor.
- Psychomotor agitation that turns into a convulsive syndrome.
- Hyperthermia up to 41 degrees, which may be accompanied by seizures.
- Severe disorders in the circulatory and respiratory system. In this case, the frequency and rhythm of breathing is disturbed so much that it can cause artificial ventilation of the lungs.
- Neurological symptoms. There are stem signs that indicate damage to the deep structures of the brain. In this case, the patient's pupils narrow or expand in both eyes, there is a weak reaction to light, a divergence of the visual organs horizontally or vertically, "floating" eyeballs, swallowing disorders, rough nystagmus, inhibition of all reflexes and other pathological symptoms. A few days later, symptoms of damage to other areas of the brain also manifest themselves. These include severe paralysis, loss of speech, lack of sensation in the limbs.
- Meningeal signs of a pronounced nature.
The consequences of such an injury are very serious. At the same time, most neurological symptoms are extremely slowly reversible. The recovery of the patient may take six months or even more. Often gross motor and mental disorders persist for a long time, and in some casescause disability.
Main consequences of brain injury
What can be fraught with brain injury? The consequences of such an injury directly depend on the strength of the blow received. With a mild bruise, severe complications are almost never observed.
Medium-degree brain injuries may also not affect the future fate of the patient. This is especially true in cases where a skull fracture does not occur simultaneously with subarachnoid hemorrhage. However, it should be noted that for a favorable outcome, the victim requires full-fledged therapy.
In some cases, such an injury does not go unnoticed. Its consequences can be post-traumatic hydrocephalus, post-traumatic arachnoiditis, post-traumatic epilepsy and encephalopathy, as well as vegetative-vascular dystonia syndrome.
As for severe brain contusion, it has the worst prognosis. Approximately 30-50% of these injuries are fatal.
The most serious consequences
When a severe brain injury occurs, survivors are more likely to experience the following complications:
- inflammation (post-traumatic) of the meninges (leptomeningitis, arachnoiditis, pachymeningitis);
- epilepsy;
- atrophy (post-traumatic) of the brain, that is, a decrease in the volume of brain tissue;
- scars in the area of membranes and tissues of the brain;
- hydrocephalus with intracranial hypertension;
- liquor cysts;
- porencephalypost-traumatic;
- liquorrhea in the presence of a skull fracture.
All of these conditions are manifested by movement disorders that make it difficult to move and self-care, as well as impaired coordination, speech, mental disorders, frequent headaches, decreased intelligence, seizures and dizziness. In such cases, patients are assigned a disability group, as they lose all ability to work.
Diagnosis, treatment
In addition to the clinical examination, as well as the circumstances of the injury, CT plays an important role in the diagnosis. In the course of such a study, specialists are able to detect the slightest changes in the brain, as well as differentiate its bruises and concussions, identify degrees of severity, determine skull fractures and subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Treatment of such an injury should be carried out only in a hospital setting. Most often, with such a brain lesion, conservative therapy is used. Although sometimes the patient may need surgical intervention. The main criterion that determines the scope of medical care is the severity of the injury.
