A systematic review of treatments for mild traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of interventions for mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) in adults as found in the literature. Research design: Systematic review of the literature. Methods: Six electronic databases and 18 journals within the brain injury field were manually searched between the years 1980–2003. References from articles were scanned for further literature. Studies that met broad inclusion criteria were subjected to a formal test of relevance. Those found to be relevant were qualitatively tested for their methodological soundness. Results: One thousand and fifty-five studies were initially identified and 163 were assessed using the relevance tool, yielding 20 studies for review. Four categories of interventions were identified: Pharmacotherapy, Cognitive Rehabilitation, Patient Education and Other. The majority of studies were weak, however there is evidence to support the effectiveness of patient education interventions. Conclusions: There are few rigorous studies evaluating treatment of MTBI. Limitations of the current literature are presented.