Traumatic brain injury psychiatry

Meet the patient

A 34-year-old scaffolder, two months after a moderate TBI from a fall, is back on the rehab ward because his wife "doesn't recognise him." He is irritable, disinhibited, and swings between apathy and rage. He tells you fluently that he is "absolutely fine to go home."

Why the examiner cares. Moderate and severe TBI can cause personality changes including impulsivity, severe irritability, affective instability and apathy, and cognitive, affective and behavioural sequelae are often more disabling than residual physical effects.^[16]

References18ShowHide

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