Abstract
Background Head injury is an important public health problem nowadays. Traumatic brain injury
(TBI) results from external force that leads to damage to brain tissue. Main causes
of TBI are motor vehicle collisions and fall from height. One of the primary symptoms
after TBI is impaired word retrieval. Therefore, this study was undertaken to assess
memory impairment in TBI patients following treatment to asses a residual memory status
to declare them apt for official works if improved enough.
Objectives The purpose of this study was to assess memory impairment in TBI patients to assess
the residual memory status following treatment.
Materials and Methods The study was conducted in Outpatient Department (OPD) of Neurosurgery, Uttar Pradesh
University of Medical Sciences, Saifai, Etawah, Uttar Pradesh. The TBI patients were
assessed by predesigned memory assessment questionnaire during their follow-up following
discharge from hospital.
Results A total of 65 patients with TBI were assessed, of which 21 (32.3%) cases had frontal
lobe injuries with 9 of 21 having memory loss (42.9% cases). The temporoparietal lobe
was affected in 10 (15.4%) cases out of which 5 developed memory loss, that is, 50%
cases. The multiple lobes were involved in 24 (36.9%) cases, out of which memory impairment
occurred in 9 cases, that is, 37.5%. Four of total five cases (80%) of diffuse axonal
injury had memory loss. Further, 16.9% (n = 11) TBI patients were unable to perform digit span test (immediate memory test),
44.6% (n = 29) cases could not perform three-word recall at 5 minutes (short-term memory test),
and 15.4% (n = 10) cases could not perform (long-term memory test).
Conclusion The study showed that memory assessment is required in TBI patients for instituting
proper rehabilitation measures and to allow them for sensitive memory-related work
following discharge from hospital.
Keywords
traumatic brain injury - memory impairment
