What is the difference between mild, moderate, & severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)?
These terms are defined (somewhat differently, depending on which professional organization you consult) according to specific information about 1) the person’s state of awareness after the traumatic brain injury (TBI), measured by something called the “Glasgow Coma Scale”, 2) the length of time they are unconscious following the injury, called “loss of consciousness”, and 3) the period of amnesia following the injury, called “post-traumatic amnesia”. People whose TBIs are defined as severe generally have a loss of consciousness of more than 36 hours, post-traumatic amnesia lasting more than a week, and after the accident may show only minimal responses to external stimuli, giving them low scores on the Glasgow Coma Scale. People whose TBIs are defined as moderate generally have a loss of consciousness lasting from about half an hour up to 36 hours, post-traumatic amnesia lasting from a day to a week, and after the accident do show some level of awareness, even if disoriented, giving t
