Related Experiment Videos
Return to flying after head injuries: a review.
Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
|July 1, 1983
Summary
Assessing the risk of post-traumatic epilepsy (PTEP) after head injury is crucial for recovery, especially for returning to flying status. Key risk factors for PTEP include specific medical histories and injury characteristics, guiding individual assessments.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Aerospace Medicine
Background:
- Head injury pathology impacts recovery prognosis.
- Return to flying status is contingent upon mitigating risks of subsequent post-traumatic epilepsy (PTEP).
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the risk of developing post-traumatic epilepsy (PTEP) following head injury.
- To identify risk factors associated with PTEP for assessing fitness for flying status.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of PTEP onset incidence within 1 and 2 years post-head injury.
- Identification of clear risk markers for PTEP development and persistence.
Main Results:
- High incidence of PTEP onset (75% within 1 year, 85% within 2 years) in those who develop the complication.
- Identified risk factors for PTEP include febrile convulsions, family epilepsy history, early PTEP, intracranial hematoma, and depressed skull fracture.
- Depressed skull fracture risk is heightened by early epilepsy, dural laceration, focal neurological signs, and prolonged post-traumatic amnesia (>24h).
Conclusions:
- Permanent flying prohibition based solely on initial head injury severity is rarely justified.
- Individualized assessment by Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs), with specialist referral when needed, is recommended for fitness to fly evaluations.