COMMENTARY

Sleep Disorders in Traumatic Brain Injury

Jacob F. Collen, MD; Christopher J. Lettieri, MD

May 24, 2011

Clinical Implications

TBI is a growing societal concern, increasingly recognized in athletes, the elderly and military personnel. These injuries encompass a multifaceted disease process and are commonly associated with psychiatric conditions (depression, PTSD, anxiety), neuromuscular and neurocognitive impairments (chronic pain, physical rehabilitation, impaired cognition), and sleep-related disorders (sleep apnea, PTH, PLMD, insomnia, and CRSDs). Sleep disorders in patients with TBI are underdiagnosed and undertreated. TBI rehabilitation requires objective diagnosis, effective therapies, and long-term management, all of which offer exciting avenues for influencing this disease process and its outcomes. Because of the inherent cognitive limitations in TBI patients as reporters of their symptoms, all TBI patients with suspected sleep disturbances should undergo a comprehensive, objective evaluation, especially given the established adverse impact of sleep disruption on cognition in this already impaired population.

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Cite this: Jacob F. Collen, Christopher J. Lettieri. Sleep Disorders in Traumatic Brain Injury - Medscape - May 24, 2011.

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