Are Cognitive Outcome and Recovery Different in Civilian Penetrating Versus Non-Penetrating Brain Injuries?

Abstract

The present study sought to determine whether cognitive outcome and course of recovery in civilian penetrating brain injury due to gunshot can be distinguished from that of non-penetrating brain injury due to motor vehicle accident. Matched survivors of penetrating and non-penetrating brain injury were assessed with a brief neuropsychological test battery at inpatient rehabilitation, 1 year post-injury, and 2 years post-injury. The traumatic brain injury groups were found to have patterns of performance marked by reliably distinct differences in isolated areas, with different cognitive predictors of brain injury type present in early versus later recovery. The degree of recovery over the first 2 years appeared to be quite similar for penetrating and non-penetrating injuries.

Keywords:

• Penetrating traumatic brain injury
• Non-penetrating traumatic brain injury
• Cognition

Acknowledgment

This project was partially supported by NIDRR grant #H133A080044-09, which funds the SEMTBIS project through the TBI Model System multicenter study.