How is DAI diagnosed?

Generally, DAI is diagnosed after a traumatic brain injury with GCS less than 8 for more than six consecutive hours. Radiographically, computed tomography (CT) head findings of small punctate hemorrhages to white matter tracts can indicate diffuse axonal injury in the setting of an appropriate clinical presentation.

Can a person recover from diffuse axonal injury?

Patients with grade I and II diffuse axonal injuries recovered consciousness within 2 weeks, while patients with grade III injuries required approximately 2 months.

Does diffuse axonal injury show up on MRI?

DAI is rarely seen on CT, and then only if hemorrhage is present. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is much more sensitive in detecting DAI, which can be seen as hypointensity on T2*-weighted gradient recall echo (GRE) imaging.

Which imaging modality would be used in the first 24 hours after a traumatic brain injury VS after 24 hours?

They reported that in 82 (67%) patients, the findings of CT and MRI were identical. In the remaining 41 patients, MR demonstrated subtle additional TBI findings, but this information did not affect clinical management. They concluded that head CT is the only imaging test necessary in the first 48 h after TBI [24].

Which is the chief symptom of diffuse axonal injury?

The main symptom of diffuse axonal injury is lack of consciousness, which can last up to six hours or more. A person with a mild or moderate diffuse axonal injury who is conscious may also show other signs of brain damage, depending upon which area of the brain is most affected.

Can you recover from DAI?

Your recovery from DAI depends on the severity of the injury itself. For example, those who regain consciousness within two weeks have a relatively mild injury and can have a good chance of making a full recovery. In the more severe DAIs, recovery is difficult to predict.

What happens in diffuse axonal injury?

Diffuse axonal injury is the shearing (tearing) of the brain’s long connecting nerve fibers (axons) that happens when the brain is injured as it shifts and rotates inside the bony skull. DAI usually causes coma and injury to many different parts of the brain.

What can cause a diffuse axonal injury?

A DAI is caused by shaking or strong rotation of the head by physical forces, such as with a car crash. Injury occurs because the unmoving brain lags behind the movement of the skull, causing nerve structures to tear. The tearing of the nerve tissue disrupts the brain’s regular communication and chemical processes.

Does brain damage show up on an MRI?

The meninges job is to hold the brain in place, and cushion the brain from harm. These newer, specialized types of MRI scans can now look and assess damage to the brains structure, or measure brain function to detect changes in the brains structure and function due to TBI and concussions.

How do you get diffuse axonal injury?

How is the diagnosis of diffuse axonal injury made?

The diagnosis is best made on MRI where it is characterized by several small regions of susceptibility artifact at the grey-white matter junction, in the corpus callosum, and in more severe cases in the brainstem, surrounded by FLAIR hyperintensity.

Is the corpus callosum sensitive to SWI sequences?

MRI, especially SWI or GRE sequences, exquisitely sensitive to paramagnetic blood products may demonstrate small regions of susceptibility artefact at the grey-white matter junction, in the corpus callosum or the brain stem. Some lesions may be entirely non-haemorrhagic (even using high field strength SWI sequences).

How are petechial hemorrhages classified as diffuse axonal injury?

Small petechial hemorrhages, which appear hypointense on T2*-weighted images, are characteristic but represent a minority of true diffuse axonal injury lesions 2. The prognostic validity of the MRI-based anatomic grading of diffuse axonal injury is controversial.

What happens to the neurones after an axonal injury?

In the majority of cases, these forces result in damage to the cells and result in oedema. Actual complete tearing of the axons is only seen in severe cases. It is also known that some neurones may undergo degeneration in the weeks or months after trauma, it is called secondary axonotmesis.