CDC Grand Rounds: Reducing Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by a bump, blow, jolt, or penetrating wound to the head that disrupts the normal functioning of the brain. In 2009, CDC estimated that at least 2.4 million emergency department visits, hospitalizations, or deaths were related to a TBI, either alone or in combination with other injuries. Approximately 75% of TBIs are mild, often called concussions. Children, adolescents, and older adults are most likely to sustain a TBI. Nearly one third (30.5%) of all injury deaths included a diagnosis of TBI. In addition, an estimated 5.3 million U.S. residents are living with TBI-related disabilities, including long-term cognitive and psychologic impairments. A severe TBI not only affects a person's life and family, but also has a large societal and economic toll. The economic costs of TBIs in 2010 were estimated at $76.5 billion, including $11.5 billion in direct medical costs and $64.8 billion in indirect costs (e.g., lost wages, lost productivity, and nonmedical expenditures). These data underestimate the national burden because they include neither TBIs managed in nonhospital settings nor >31,000 military personnel diagnosed with TBI and treated in the U.S. Department of Defense or Veterans Administration medical systems in 2010.