Traumatic Brain Injury Clinical Recommendations: Impact on Care and Lessons Learned

Area of Science:

• Military Health
• Neurology
• Clinical Guidelines

Background:

• Over 330,000 service members diagnosed with TBI since 2000.
• The Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (DVBIC) addresses knowledge gaps in TBI care.
• Need for standardized TBI diagnosis and treatment guidelines within the Military Health System.

Purpose of the Study:

• Overview of the need and process for developing TBI-specific clinical recommendations (CRs).
• Detailing lessons learned during CR development.
• Disseminating TBI information to service members, clinical providers, and military families.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a standardized process based on Institutes of Medicine and World Health Organization recommendations.
• Developed evidence-based clinical guidelines for TBI diagnosis and treatment.
• Integrated site-specific adjustments for military stakeholders and deployed settings.

Main Results:

• Established a systematic process for developing TBI CRs.
• Provided evidence-based, standardized guidance for TBI symptom management and treatment.
• Considered military service-specific and Department of Defense policies in CR development.

Conclusions:

• DVBIC's CR development process offers standardized, evidence-based guidance for TBI care.
• The process addresses unique military operational challenges.
• CRs support improved TBI diagnosis and treatment outcomes for service members.