Traumatic brain injury (TBI) was first proposed as a potential risk factor for developing a glioma in the 1800s, and conditions for establishing a causal relationship between brain injury and gliomas have since been proposed. Given the medical and legal ramifications, the current literature was reviewed to better understand this possible association. Articles that examined the relationship between TBI and glioma formation in adults and were published in English between 1978 and 2022 were reviewed. There were 19 case reports of 25 patients and 16 observational studies. The case reports describe glioma formation at the precise site of prior brain injury in continuity with traumatic scar; the observational studies report conflicting findings, but they largely demonstrate no association. Most of the observational studies are limited by their retrospective nature, but we identified one prospective cohort study which found a positive association. Altogether, we suggest that glioma formation after TBI is a rare occurrence that warrants further study.

Head rotation causes compression and occlusion of the ipsilateral internal jugular (IJ) vein. This can result in raised intracranial pressure and increased bleeding if the patient is having or has recently had surgery. The amount of head rotation in adults resulting in occlusion of the ipsilateral IJ vein is unknown however. We measured the amount of head turn that produced occlusion of the ipsilateral IJ vein in 25 patients having surgery under general anesthesia. On average, 80% of IJ veins occlude at a mean of 55.6° on the left and 53.3° on the right.

Objectives: Long-term neurological response to treatment after a severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) is a dynamic process. Failure to capture individual heterogeneity in recovery may impact findings from single endpoint sTBI randomized controlled trials (RCT). The present study re-examined the efficacy of erythropoietin (Epo) and transfusion thresholds through longitudinal modeling of sTBI recovery as measured by the Disability Rating Scale (DRS). This study complements the report of primary outcomes in the Epo sTBI RCT, which failed to detect significant effects of acute treatment at 6 months post-injury. Methods: We implemented mixed effects models to characterize the recovery time-course and to examine treatment efficacy as a function of time post-injury and injury severity. Results: The inter-quartile range (25th–75th percentile) of DRS scores was 20–28 at week1; 8–24 at week 4; and 3–17 at 6 months. TBI severity group was found to significantly interact with Epo randomization group on mean DRS recovery curves. No significant differences in DRS recovery were found in transfusion threshold groups. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the value of taking a comprehensive view of recovery from sTBI in the Epo RCT as a temporally dynamic process that is shaped by both treatment and injury severity, and highlights the importance of the timing of primary outcome measurement. Effects of Epo treatment varied as a function of injury severity and time. Future studies are warranted to understand the possible moderating influence of injury severity on treatment effects pertaining to sTBI recovery. (JINS, 2019, 25, 293–301)

Objectives: Work-related traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are not well documented in the literature. Published studies mostly rely on worker databases that fail to provide clinically relevant information. Our objective is to describe the characteristics of hospitalized patients and their work-related TBI. Methods: We used the Québec provincial trauma and TBI program databases to identify all patients with a diagnosis of work-related TBI admitted to the Montreal General Hospital, a level 1 trauma center, between 2000 and 2014. Data from their medical records were extracted using a predetermined information sheet. Simple descriptive statistics (means and percentages) were used to summarize the data. Results: A total of 285 cases were analyzed. Workplace TBI patients were middle-aged (mean, 43.62 years), overwhelmingly male (male:female 18:1), mostly healthy, and had completed a high school level education. Most workers were from the construction industry; falling was the most common mechanism of injury. The majority of patients (76.8%) presented with a mild TBI; only a minority (14%) required neurosurgery. The most common finding on computed tomography was skull fracture. The median length of hospitalization was 7 days, after which most patients were discharged directly home. A total of 8.1% died of their injuries. Conclusions: Our study found that most hospitalized victims of work-related TBI had mild injury; however, some required neurosurgical intervention and a non-negligible proportion died of their injury. Improving fall prevention, accurately document helmet use and increasing the safety practice in the construction industry may help decrease work-related TBI burden.

This study investigated fatigue and anger in people with SCI. Participants were 27 adults with SCI living in the community (males = 26, females = 1; mean age = 50 years, SD = 9.47 years) and a comparison group of 27 other adults without SCI. Data about their experience of fatigue and anger were collected using the Chalder Fatigue Scale and the Profile of Mood States. Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA by ranks and chi-square analyses were used to determine whether the SCI participants had elevated levels of fatigue and anger than the typical or noninjured community group. Persons with SCI reported significantly elevated fatigue and elevated levels of anger than typical others. These findings are discussed with reference to adjustment following SCI, and interpreted in light of the Stress Appraisal and Coping Model (SAC) of adjustment following SCI.