Deployment Surveillance Report: Traumatic Brain Injury Identified from Hospitalization and Air Evacuation Records - Army, 2004-2009.

摘要

The Army Institute of Public Health conducts injury surveillance for deployed Soldiers to identify and track injury incidence during deployments. For the on-going operations in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF)) and Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)), estimates for the incidence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) have ranged from 10 percent to 40 percent. The purpose of this report is to describe the incidence and causes of TBI that required Army Soldiers to be hospitalized in theater and/or air evacuated from OIF and OEF between Jan 2004 and Dec 2009. From 2004 to 2009, there were 4,182 incident TBI cases (hospitalized and/or air evacuated). The overall annual TBI rate was higher in OEF (66/10,000 person-years) than OIF (45/10,000 person- years). Battle injuries accounted for 69 percent of hospitalized TBIs and 65 percent of air evacuated TBIs. Non-battle injuries (NBI) accounted for the remainder. The leading non-battle causes of TBIs were motor vehicle crashes (42 percent of hospitalized and 30 percent of air evacuated non-battle TBIs) and falls (20 percent of hospitalized and 16 percent of air evacuated of non-battle TBIs, respectively). Recommendations include additional epidemiologic analysis and research to better understand the long-term effects and modifiable risk factors for disability for Soldiers who have had one or more TBI.