Diagnosis of a Diffuse Axonal Child Brain Injury
Medical advances have allowed doctors to greatly improve their imaging and testing of the human brain for damage and injury. When checking a child for diffuse axonal injury your child’s doctor may use several different testing methods. The most common is the MRI, but there are other options used to confirm the diagnosis.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): This is the most common test, and is performed using a (usually) non-invasive scanning procedure. The imaging produced shows a detailed cross-section of the brain which can be used to detect bleeding and brain tissue abnormalities.
Computed Tomography (CT) scans: These are less commonly used because they often produce a false negative result in diffuse axonal injury diagnosis. Because MRI tests show a better contrast of tissues, CT scans are not as commonly used in diagnosis.
Evoked Potentials tests: These are commonly known as BAER, SSEP, and VEP tests. These look at the visual, auditory and sensory pathways in the brain. Diffuse axonal injuries can cause damage to these pathways, so any abnormalities can point to this type of injury.
Electroencephalogram (EEG) tests: These tests measure the electrical activity in the brain, which may be decreased, sporadic or completely ceased in a child who has suffered a diffuse axonal injury.
These tests can be conducted rather easily because the majority of children who suffer a brain injury related to diffuse axonal injury are rendered unconscious immediately following the accident. Unfortunately, this state of unconsciousness often turns into a comatose state for nearly 90% of patients.
While there are many causes of diffuse axonal injuries in children and many ways to diagnose and detect brain injury, there is no “cure” for the resulting lifetime of difficulties your child may face. To help ease the financial burden on your family, you may need to contact an Andover child injury lawyer to file a child injury claim to recover damages related to your child’s accident and injury.
Contacting a Massachusetts Child Injury Lawyer
If your child has suffered a traumatic brain injury in Massachusetts because of the negligence of another, you and/or your child may be entitled to compensation to help with medical bills and ongoing medical treatments. For more information on child injuries, order this free book, Dealing with a Nightmare: The Essential Steps to Take if Your Child Suffers a Serious Injury.
The Massachusetts child injury lawyers at Kiley Law Group serve clients in the greater Boston area and will advocate for fair compensation for your child’s injuries. For a no cost evaluation of your child’s injury case, contact us today at 1-800-930-8145.
