Encephalopathy in setting of Traumatic Brain Injuries
Do you query for encephalopathy in traumatic brain injured patients, assuming clinical indicators are present? Or, do you consider encephalopathy as integral to the traumatic brain injury?
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My best interpretation . . . It depends. If the AMS/encephalopathy is due to the TBI, I would vote "integral". Not every patient with TBI has symptoms of encephalopathy, and I might wonder if there were exceptional factors (like cerebral edema) contributing to the severity of illness. If there was a metabolic problem (for example hyponatremia) in addition to the TBI, I would ask for clarification on what is primarily causing the AMS and go for the metabolic encephalopathy if they said the hyponatremia.