Military TBI During the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars

Trautnatic brain injury (TBD is an important source of morbidity in the Iraq and Afgtianistan wars, Althougti penetrating brain injuries are more readily identified, closed brain injuries occur more commonly. Explosion or blast injury is the most common cause of war injuries. The contribution ofthe primary blast wave (primary blast injury) in brain injury is an area of active research. Lessons learned from the sports concussion and civilian mild TBI literature are useful. Individuals with TBI and posttraumatic stress disorder require treatment of both conditions. Families and cotnmunities need to be cognizant of the needs of these returning veterans. Key words: blast tnjury, brain injury, concussion, Iraq tear, mitd TBI, mititary, TBI UNDERSTANDING the types of injuriesbeing sustained by our American mili-tary personnel is necessary to care adequately for these individuals as they return from Iraq and Afghanistan for treatment and, ultimately, back to our communities. This report will dis-cuss the epidemiology of traumatic brain in-jury (TBI) in the military, the relevance of TBI to the military, issues regarding blast injury, co-occurrence of posttraumatic stress disor-der (PTSD) and TBI, and data from the Walte