The Brain Trauma Foundation (BTF) was founded in 1986 to develop research on

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic b ...

(TBI). Since its formation the foundation's mission has expanded to improving the outcome of TBI patients nationwide through working to implement evidence-based guidelines for prehospital and in-hospital care, quality-improvement programs, and coordinating educational programs for medical professionals.

TBI Guidelines

The Brain Trauma Foundation has developed the ''Guidelines for the Management of Severe Traumatic Brain Injury'', first published in 1995 and revised twice, most recently in 2007. The foundation has also developed companion guidelines for pediatric TBI, prehospital management of TBI, early indicators and prognosis of severe TBI, surgical management of TBI, and field management for

combat medic A combat medic, or healthcare specialist, is responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injur ...

s. The guidelines seek to create uniformity in TBI care all over the world. An independent analysis of the effect of the Brain Trauma Foundation’s (BTF) guidelines on traumatic brain injury (TBI) outcome and cost savings by the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georg ...

(CDC) found that if the BTF guidelines were used more routinely, there would be a 50% decrease in deaths, improved quality of life and a savings of $262 million in annual medical costs, $43 million in annual rehabilitation costs and a lifetime societal cost of $3.84 billion. The guidelines have been endorsed by the

American Association of Neurological Surgeons The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association focused on advancing the specialty of neurological surgery. The organization has over 8,000 members around the world. It is one of the five Conti ...

, the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

Neurotrauma Committee, and the New York State Department of Health. The guidelines have been distributed to all neurosurgeons in the United States. The guidelines provide medical personnel a protocol which has been proven to improve the survival and outcomes of TBI patients and has been shown to reduce rates of mortality.

Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring

One of the main facets of the guidelines is the recommendation to monitor

intracranial pressure Intracranial pressure (ICP) is the pressure exerted by fluids such as cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) inside the skull and on the brain tissue. ICP is measured in millimeters of mercury ( mmHg) and at rest, is normally 7–15 mmHg for a supine adult. ...

in treating severe TBI patients. This process is called ICP Monitoring.

References

{{reflist Organizations established in 1986 Neurotrauma