Traumatic Brain Injury: New Advances in Management, Treatment and Rehabilitation

Course Description:

Each year, TBI causes a substantial number of deaths and leads to life- long disability for many children around the world. Every year, 830 000 children die from unintentional or “accidental” injuries and TBI represents about 30%. 2270 children die every day as a result of an unintentional injury and the vast majority of these injuries occur in low-income and middle-income countries.

Child injuries are a growing global public health problem. They are a significant area of concern from the age of one year. Among older children they represent almost half of the deaths. The effects of a TBI can vary significantly, but individuals with a moderate or severe TBI may have long-term or life-long effects from the injury. A severe TBI not only impacts the life of an individual and their family, but it also has a large societal and economic toll. The lifetime economic cost of TBI, including direct and indirect medical costs, was estimated to be approximately $76.5 billion in 2010 is the US only.

Additionally, the cost of fatal TBIs and TBIs requiring hospitalization, many of which are severe, account for approximately 90% of total TBI medical costs. Falls are one of the leading causes of TBI-related ED visits, hospitalizations, and deaths, and recent data shows that over 25% of fall-related TBIs were among the youngest (0-4 years).

Goal: The main objective of this symposium is to increase awareness about importance of practicing humanism in child neurology not only for our patients but for ourselves.

Secondary goals:

1. Recognize the humanistic needs of our patients with neurological diseases.
2. Understand how to live a humanistic professional life facing so many challenges.
3. Be familiar with difficult situations and how to solve them in current times and different areas of the world.

Learning Objectives

1. Recognize the symptoms of patients with mild or severe Traumatic Brain Injury and design comprehensive therapeutic plans for each group according to their needs.
2. Implement timely, appropriate supportive critical care, neurological therapy and rehabilitation for patients with traumatic brain injury.

Impact Statements

1. Diagnosis and management of children with mild or severe traumatic brain injury.
2. Rehabilitation of children with traumatic brain injury with long term sequelae.

Organizer & Moderator:
Christopher C. Giza, MD; UCLA – Mattel Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles, California, USA

Co-Organizer:
Alcy Torres, MD; Boston University School of Medicine, Boston Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Basic Science and Translational Research Relating to Pediatric TBI
Christopher C. Giza, MD

Pediatric Concussion and Mild TBI
Alcy Torres, MD

Severe TBI: Evaluation and Managing of Children in the ICU
Biju Hameed, MRCPI, FRCPCH, PhD
Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, England, UK

Innovative and Practical Methods of Rehabilitation
Lucia Braga, Neuroscientist, PhD
SARAH Network of Rehabilitation Hospitals, Brasilia, Brazil