Module
7: Head Injuries
Segment 4: Diffuse Brain Injuries
References labeled PEDS contain a pediatric element or primary focus.
Topic: Diffuse axonal injury
- Diffuse axonal injury. TeachMe Series; 2021. 27 July 2021. doi: https://teachmesurgery.com/neurosurgery/traumatic-injuries/diffuse-axonal-injury/
- Chilakapati S, Dragun AJ, Chiu RG, et al. Use of MRI in patients with severe diffuse traumatic brain injury: A matched National Trauma Data Bank analysis. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2024;96(6):938-943. doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000004255 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38196125/.
- Humble SS, Wilson LD, Wang L, et al. Prognosis of diffuse axonal injury with traumatic brain injury. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2018;85(1):155-159. doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000001852 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29462087/.
- Kim M, Ahn JS, Park W, et al. Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) in moderate to severe head injured patients: Pure DAI vs. non-pure DAI. Clin Neurol Neurosurg. 2018;171:116-123. doi: 10.1016/j.clineuro.2018.06.011 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29909182/.
- Sanker V, Nordin EOR, Heesen P, et al. Frequency of diffuse axonal injury and its outcomes in severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI): A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Neurotrauma. 2025;42(15-16):1243-1255. doi: 10.1089/neu.2024.0469 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40485292/.
Topic: Delayed, chronic, & diffuse TBIs
- Bey T, Ostick B. Second impact syndrome. West J Emerg Med. 2009;10(1):6-10. doi: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19561758/.
- Boyum AB. Second-impact syndrome. NeurologyLive; 2016. 27 September 2016. doi: Accessed 2022. https://www.neurologylive.com/view/second-impact-syndrome
- Grashow R, Weisskopf MG, Baggish A, et al. Pre-mortem chronic traumatic encephalopathy diagnoses in professional football. Ann Neurol. 2020;doi: 10.1002/ana.25747 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37798551/.
- Marrero J, Dlugasch L. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy and traumatic brain injury. Am Nurse J. 2024;19(5):6-12. doi: https://www.myamericannurse.com/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/.
- McKee AC, Mez J, Abdolmohammadi B, et al. Neuropathologic and clinical findings in young contact sport athletes exposed to repetitive head impacts. JAMA Neurol. 2023;doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.2907 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37639244/.
- Priemer DS, Iacono D, Rhodes CH, et al. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy in the brains of military personnel. N Engl J Med. 2022;386(23):2169-2177. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2203199 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35675177/.
- Rabinovici GD. Advances and gaps in understanding chronic traumatic encephalopathy: From pugilists to American football players. JAMA. 2017;318(4):338-340. doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.9353 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28742889/.
- Vargas-Ardila PA, Rondón M, Bonilla-Lersundy MC, et al. Continuum of Irreversible and Potentially Reversible Traumatic Brain Injury Sequelae: Axonal Injury and Hydrocephalus. Korean J Neurotrauma. 2026;22(3):182-199. doi: 10.13004/kjnt.2026.22.e32 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42564451/.
Topic: Ischemic/hypoxic brain injuries
- Alnaami I, Algahtany M, Mansour OY. Effectiveness and safety of endovascular therapy in patients with traumatic vertebral artery injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Injury. 2026;57(4):113111. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2026.113111 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41722263/.
- Biffl WL, Moore EE, Kansagra AP, et al. Diagnosis and management of blunt cerebrovascular injuries: What you need to know. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2025;98(1):1-10. doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000004439 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39093622/.
- Blair KJ, Hawley KL, Burlew CC. Management of carotid artery injuries: What you need to know. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2026;doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000005122 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42473982/.
- Furtmann A, Lopez-Schultz S, Howk A, et al. Blunt cerebrovascular injury after ground-level falls: Yield of CT angiography and relevance of the expanded Denver criteria. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2026;doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000005087 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42268658/.
- Gaspich JP, Solomon AL, Nordan TA, et al. Selective screening falls short: A review of universal screening for blunt cerebrovascular injury. Injury. 2026;57(6):113288. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2026.113288 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41997097/.
- Hodžić I, Doelkahar B, Horn J, et al. A continuous convolutional neural network: very early EEG most predictive for poor neurological outcome in postanoxic coma. Resuscitation. 2026;219:110943. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2025.110943 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41453650/.
- Kim DY, Biffl W, Bokhari F, et al. Evaluation and management of blunt cerebrovascular injury: A practice management guideline from the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2020;88(6):875-887. doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000002668 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32176167/.
- Kobayashi L, Perkins L, Johnston W, et al. American Association for the Surgery of Trauma–World Society of Emergency Surgery guidelines on the diagnosis and management of cervical vascular injuries. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2026;100(3):509-519. doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000004823 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41533003/.
- Leichtle SW, Banerjee D, Schrader R, et al. Blunt cerebrovascular injury - the case for universal screening. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2020;doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000002824 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32520898/.
- Leng S, Li W, Cai Y, et al. The endovascular treatment strategies of cerebrovascular injuries in traumatic brain injury. Chin J Traumatol. 2025;doi: 10.1016/j.cjtee.2025.01.001 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1008127525000033.
- Li A, Durr K, Fernando SM, et al. Rates of healing and timing of repeat imaging after blunt cerebrovascular injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2025;99(4):643-649. doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000004748 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40839786/.
- Lim HO, Boremski P, Locklear T, et al. Evaluating blunt cerebrovascular injury screening in high-energy trauma patients: A rural trauma center study. J Surg Res. 2026;322:215-221. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2026.03.050 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41990636/.
- Masch JL, Austin JR, Jaffray P, et al. Trust, but verify: the importance of additional imaging after BCVI screening. World J Emerg Surg. 2026;doi: 10.1186/s13017-026-00694-y https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41937190/.
- Nekooei N, Bent C, Brabender D, et al. Long-Term Outcomes of Traumatic Neck Vascular Injury Repairs: A Prospective Observational Vascular Injury Treatment Registry Analysis. J Surg Res. 2026;325:394-403. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2026.05.054 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42341611/.
- Nunes N, Nasef H, Baum S, et al. Risk factors and clinical outcomes among adult patients with isolated blunt cerebrovascular injuries: A national analysis. J Trauma Nurs. 2025;doi: 10.1097/jtn.0000000000000887 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41092081/.
- Russo RM, Davidson AJ, Alam HB, et al. Blunt cerebrovascular injuries: Outcomes from the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma PROspective Observational Vascular Injury Treatment (PROOVIT) multicenter registry. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2021;90(6):987-995. doi: 10.1097/ta.0000000000003127 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34016922/.
- Rutman AM, Vranic JE, Mossa-Basha M. Imaging and management of blunt cerebrovascular injury. Radiographics. 2018;38(2):542-563. doi: 10.1148/rg.2018170140 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29528828/.
- Saitta L, Resaz M, Robba C, et al. Neuroimaging for neurovascular complications of traumatic brain injury. Crit Care. 2025;29(1):362. doi: 10.1186/s13054-025-05586-2 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40826095/.
- Schauer SG, April MD, Fisher AD, et al. Blunt cerebrovascular injury in trauma—Fixed or modifiable risk factor for stroke? J Surg Res. 2025;317:167-172. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2025.11.029 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41380224/.
- Serban NL, Ungureanu G, Florian IS, et al. Cerebral vascular disturbances following traumatic brain injury: Pathophysiology, diagnosis, and therapeutic perspectives—A narrative review. Life (Basel). 2025;15(9) doi: 10.3390/life15091470 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41010412/.
- Stanislaus V, Mitra B, Zhang WW, et al. The incidence and characteristics of clinically relevant blunt cerebrovascular injury at an adult level 1 trauma centre: A retrospective cohort study. Trauma. 2024;26(4):289-296. doi: 10.1177/14604086231177124 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14604086231177124.
- Stanislaus V, Zhang WW, Chen Z, et al. Inpatient stroke outcomes in patients with blunt cerebrovascular injuries according to risk factors and treatment. Trauma. 2025;0(0):14604086251333569. doi: 10.1177/14604086251333569 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/14604086251333569.
- Teasdale B, Owolo E, Padmanaban V, et al. Traumatic vertebral artery injury: Diagnosis, natural history, and key considerations for management. J Clin Med. 2025;14(9) doi: 10.3390/jcm14093159 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40364191/.