Better Care for Iraq Vets
Doctors treating blast victims at a field hospital in Iraq have found that ruptured eardrums may help reveal which troops are at risk of hidden brain injury as reported in a letter in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. The finding is important because many such brain injuries have been missed in the past, especially when more severe or obvious wounds demanded attention.
Diagnosing brain injury, especially mild damage, is based largely on subjective symptoms like irritability and forgetfulness. Imaging tests like CAT scans do not help, and neurological function tests are not very useful without baseline information.
When we stop to consider how many brain injuries were "missed" in veterans of other wars, this new information gives cause and hope for better care and outcome for Iraq vets.
