FORT CARSON, Colo. (AP) — A group of infantry just back from Afghanistan sat down before computers at Fort Carson and began answering a series of questions:
Were you wounded? Did you lose consciousness or get
knocked out? Were you dazed, confused, or seeing stars?
The questionnaire is part of a battery of tests and
interviews to identify soldiers who suffered even mild brain injuries that
might go undetected. It's part of a broader military campaign to treat tens of
thousands of war veterans with traumatic brain injuries, often caused by
roadside bombs, a favorite weapon of insurgents.
Since 2000, nearly 213,000 U.S. servicemen and
women have suffered injuries ranging from concussions to something penetrating
the brain, the military says. Well over half, or about 121,700, were Army
soldiers.
By at least one measure, the military appears to be
doing a better job of screening. From 2000 through 2006, the military diagnosed
an average of 13,000 brain injuries each year. From 2007 through 2010, it was
28,000 a year, according to statistics from the Defense and Veterans Brain
Injury Center.
The Army Medical Command said most of the increase
is due to better detection, not more injuries, and involves concussions and
other mild injuries.
Measuring the effort's overall success is
difficult. Figures on how many soldiers return to full or partial duty after a
brain injuries weren't immediately available.
Also, the effort has suffered from a lack of clear
budget information and difficulty recruiting staff, according to a Government
Accountability Office report released in June.
Another concern is a scarcity of treatment
guidelines for mild traumatic brain injuries, according to a Defense Department
survey of soldiers, Marines and behavioral health care providers in Afghanistan
last year.
"I think that they've given it a lot of
funding," said Jacob Gadd, deputy director for health care for The
American Legion. "They're looking at research, they're looking at
treatment. They're doing everything they can. It's just a matter of having the
science."
One of the earliest alarms about military brain
injuries was raised at Fort Carson, just outside Colorado Springs. A study in
2005-2007 found that nearly 18 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq or
Afghanistan had a brain injury.
Screening questions developed at Fort Carson in
2006 were refined and validated by further research, according to Army medical
officials. Post-deployment screening became standard Army practice by 2008, the
Army Medical Command said.
For Fort Carson soldiers, the detection process
starts early. Soldiers are screened to determine if they're healthy enough to
deploy and to establish a baseline for when they return.
During deployment, medical personnel and commanders
are expected to record any time a soldier is in or near an explosion that could
cause a brain injury. Medical records are sent to Fort Carson health officials
before soldiers return.
"We're getting everybody trained, not just the
doctors, but the commanders and the battle buddies," said Maj. Scott
Trapman, a doctor of osteopathy who serves with the 1st Brigade Combat Team,
part of Fort Carson's 4th Infantry Division.
Back at Fort Carson, soldiers fill out a form and
the computer questionnaire, followed by interviews, hearing and vision tests,
immunization checks and other reviews.
Evidence of a head injury can be found at several
points along the way, said Alden Prowell, deputy chief of Fort Carson's Department
of Medical Readiness. An audiology test might detect hearing loss caused by an
explosion that a soldier didn't mention.
Common symptoms such as headaches, sleep problems
and irritability often can be cleared up in a couple of months, said Dr. Ivan
Covas-Maldonado, a Fort Carson physician.
If problems don't disappear, soldiers are referred
to the post's Warrior Recovery Center, where doctors, therapists and others use
medication, biofeedback, acupuncture, overnight sleep studies, physical therapy
and other methods.
Some of the center's physical and mental exercises
try to generate new brain connections — or utilize under-used ones — in place
of connections that may have been damaged, said Dr. Renee Pazdan, a neurologist
and a commander in the Public Health Service.
"Essentially, with practice and repetition and
training, we believe that we are making those connections better, stronger,
more efficient," she said.
Spc. Bob Westbrook of Beaumont, Texas, suffered a
concussion when he was hit in the head by a vehicle door last year. He said his
headaches, dizziness and memory problems are improving with twice-weekly
therapy at the Warrior Recovery Center.
"I did see stars," said Westbrook, a
former boxer who had suffered concussions before.
Westbrook clicked on rapidly changing photos on a
computer screen to match different depictions of the same person. The program
is designed to develop visual attention, visual memory and the ability to
recognize patterns.
He'll likely recover to his pre-concussion abilities,
said Jaclyn Foust, a speech-language pathologist at the center.
Not everyone fares as well. Pazdan recalled a
soldier who recovered from a brain injury but whose symptoms returned when he
received orders to transfer to a less desirable location, worsening his stress
level. Fort Carson arranged for him to get help from a brain-injury clinic at
his new post.
"For that soldier, we don't turn them
away," she said. "We say, 'Hey, you were doing well and can do it
again.'"
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
