Does Alcohol or Aspirin Consumption Increase Hemorrhaging in TBI Patients?
An estimated 1.5 million people in the United States incur a traumatic brain injury (TBI) every year and 60,000 people die annually from these injuries. TBI is the ultimate cause of death in 40 percent of all fatal trauma cases. TBI may result from a direct blow to the brain or from the secondary effects of head trauma such as bleeding, swelling, decreased oxygen, or increased pressure on the brain. Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) or bleeding inside the head is the cause of death in 70-80 percent of patients presenting with TBI. ICH increases the risk of brain damage, which can lead to serious residual neurological disabilities in surviving patients. Every year, 80,000 to 90,000 people experience the onset of long-term or lifelong disabilities associated with TBI. In the United States today, there are currently as many as 5.3 million TBI survivors living with these disabilities. There have been many studies dedicated to predicting overall clinical outcome in TBI patients. The factors whi
