[Identifying mild traumatic brain injury: clinical signs and consequences]

Identification of patients with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is important since 85,000 patients visit the emergency department with a head trauma annually. Although most patients recover well, 15-20% of the patients with head trauma develop persistent symptoms that interfere with resumption of daily activities. It is particularly important to identify the clinical signs that define mild TBI. Presence of anterograde amnesia after the injury, for example, is an important clinical diagnostic sign to establish the diagnosis of TBI. Posttraumatic emotional distress may increase posttraumatic symptoms. General practitioners should be aware of the problems in this patient group and identify patients with mild TBI who are at risk of developing persistent symptoms that limit participation in society.