Explosive Blast Neurotrauma

Explosive blast traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the more serious wounds suffered by United States service members injured in the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Some military medical treatments for blast TBI that have been introduced successfully in the war theater include decompressive craniectomy, cerebral angiography, transcranial Doppler, hypertonic resuscitation fluids, among others. Stateside neurosurgery, neurocritical care, and rehabilitation for these patients have similarly progressed. With experience, military physicians have been able to clinically describe blast TBI across the entire severity spectrum. One important clinical finding is that a significant number of severe blast TBI victims develop pseudoaneurysms and vasospasm, which can lead to delayed decompensation. Another is that mild blast TBI shares clinical features with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Observations suggest that the mechanism by which explosive blast injures the central nervous system may be more complex than initially assumed. Rigorous study at the basic science and clinical levels, including detailed biomechanical analysis, is needed to improve understanding of this disease. A comprehensive epidemiological study is also warranted to determine the prevalence of this disease and the factors that contribute most to the risk of developing it. Sadly, this military-specific disease has significant potential to become a civilian one as well.