ABSTRACT
Road accidents are the most common cause of head injury and account for approximately half of fatal head injuries. In addition to those killed outright by head injury, many survive and are left with lasting brain damage and psychological impairment. Neuropsychological studies of head injury rarely distinguish patients on the basis of cause of injury, preferring distinctions based on severity of brain injury or underlying pathology. Despite the high proportion of severe initial injuries, the majority of those injured in road accidents showed good recovery on the Glasgow Outcome Scale at six months. Furthermore, patients injured from other causes reported significantly more malaise on the General Health Questionnaire. The majority of head injuries are minor, and may not involve hospital admission. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appears to be relatively common after road accidents which do not involve brain injury. Some of the features of post-concussion syndrome overlap with PTSD.
