Thursday, July 22, 2010

Can anyone say TBI???

22yo female G1 P1 seen in OB clinic for 6-wk PP visit and questions about contraception, spec. Mirena. During the initial introduction, my preceptor noticed a bump on the pt's left forehead and inquired about it. Pt explained that in 2008 she had injured herself playing soccer when she and another player headbutted each other. She stated that it had never truly resolved, although it was much better. During the course of my interview, I found out that she and another player (300lb with glasses) had run full steam toward a soccer ball both with the intent of head-butting it to wherever. Instead, they collided in midair and were each thrown about 5 feet back. The other player broke his glasses and had a few minor cuts to his face, where my pt had lost consciousness for 2-3 mins, regaining it when she was being driven to the hospital. She had difficulty recalling name, place, date, etc. in the ER, but finally regained her memory. Fast forward to post-delivery 2010...pt now complains that she feels like her "center of gravity" is off and has tripped and fallen down her stairs x2 since delivery. She denies any vision changes (doesn't wear glasses/contacts), denies hearing difficulties or any hx of BP issues. She was negative for PIH, GDM or any other complications (except PUPP) during/post pregnancy. After discussing risks/benefits of contraceptive types (incl. Mirena) and performing necessary cultures prior to IUD insertion, pt was instructed on when to return for IUD placement and a NEURO CONSULT was initiated immediately. I thought this case was particularly interesting b/c of what we have learned about TBI in school/SIM center and that TBI can affect anyone at anytime...including 22 yo post-partum females.

2 comments:

  1. You are absolutely right!!! Never underestimate the power of a head "bumping." I actually experienced a minor concussion just from hitting my head just right on the car door. Yes, the car door! It hit me in my temporal lobe so hard it knocked to the ground and I couldn't remember the point between "ouch" from the hit and "how did I get down here" as I sit on my driveway in the pouring rain.

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