Emotional state of patients with mild traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Psychological effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) are frequently present in addition to neurological deficits. The purpose of this study is to assess the emotional state of patients with mild TBI in the remote period. Methods: This study included 78 patients aged 22–53 years with a reliably established diagnosis of mild TBI, with damage duration ranging from 1–5 years. The mean age was (34.6±3.2 years). To determine the level of anxiety, the Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale was used. Results: The testing revealed that patients with suicidal thoughts had a significantly higher level of anxiety (34.2%) than the patients with TBI in the main group (27.5%). Comparative analysis between the two groups showed that the uselessness was more characteristic for suicides (22.8±0.14), who considered themselves completely useless than patients with TBI (20.6±1.36) with reliability (t = 4.2; p<0.001). Conclusion: Due to the damage that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can do to the body, especially to mental health, it is important to use medical and psychosocial rehabilitation as early as possible in the treatment stage to figure out the type and severity of the psychoemotional disorder and correct the psychosomatic state using psychopharmacological and psychotherapeutic effects.