Acquired Brain Injury (ABI)

An acquired brain injury can affect not just the cognitive and emotional functions of the brain, but also the many bodily systems it regulates—forever changing how a person relates to the world.

A serious injury to the head can be one of the most complicated and life-altering traumas a person can suffer. According to the Brain Injury Association, almost 400,000 Americans are hospitalized each year for acquired brain injury (ABI). Of those, approximately one-third will live with permanent disabilities.

Financial Consequences
The cost of caring for ABI individuals is both high and unpredictable. Because the brain never completely heals, there is often the need for continual care years after the accident. It is estimated that the cost of all ABI injured workers in the U.S. is $48.3 billion annually, with hospitalization and facility costs accounting for $31.7 billion.

Physical Consequences
Recovery for an ABI injured worker is often a long and slow process. Injured workers who have sustained an injury to the brain may suffer from:

• short- and long-term memory loss
• difficulty concentrating
• failure to exercise good judgment
• lack of awareness of cognitive deficits
• agitation, egocentrism, impulsiveness, inhibition, isolation, violent behavior

While recovering from an ABI, individuals may need to overcome:

• loss of vision, hearing, smell, or taste
• speech impairment
• headaches
• diminished endurance
• spatial disorientation
• seizures
• muscle spasticity
• diminished physical/functional skills

Treatment Challenges
Although standard tests such as the Glasgow Coma Scale, x-rays, CT, or MRI scans are commonly used to measure the severity of a brain injury, there are still many challenges to treating this complex medical condition that can impede recovery, including:

• Measuring the unseen. Brain damage isn’t always visible or immediately apparent, especially for individuals in a coma. Unless treated appropriately, residual injuries can lead to other complications.
• Assessing the full damage. There is never just one victim in a medical catastrophe. In addition to identifying all of the individual's injuries, it is equally important to assess family, home, and work life.
• Reaching beyond survival. Medical teams that plan for future outcomes are more likely to make better clinical decisions that reduce overall costs and enhance recovery.
• Chemical sensitivities. ABI injured workers are highly sensitive to chemical substances and must be under the care of neurological specialists who can prescribe appropriate medications.
• Avoiding missed opportunities. The sooner an ABI person starts acute medical rehabilitation, the better their chances for full recovery. Individuals in a prolonged coma that have appropriate rehabilitation delayed until they reach consciousness may miss critical opportunities that could have resulted in a higher functional level.
• Appropriate use of resources. Because there are no definitive long-term protocols for treating the myriad of ABI symptoms and complications, physicians with limited experience tend to overuse resources that provide little benefit to the injured worker.

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Disclaimer: This site is for informational purposes only. The content on this site is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your health care provider if you have any questions regarding your medical condition. Please note that interactions on this site between you and a physician or nurse do not constitute or result in the formation of a physician/injured person and/or nurse/injured person relationship.