Traumatic injury in patients with neurologic and psychiatric disease

Our work and multiple other lines of evidence suggest that patients suffering from neurologic and psychiatric disorders are over-represented in the population suffering traumatic injuries. In addition, a premorbid history of such disorders can impact on the severity of injury, as well as present particular problems in the acute management of this population. Constant vigilance, leading to prompt identification of concurrent neurologic and psychiatric illness in trauma victims, is critical for patient management. The interactions of these disorders and their treatments present complex clinical challenges to the traumatologist and the intensivist.