Source: tgh.org | Repost Duerson Fund 11/7/2022 –
Physicians at Tampa General Hospital’s emergency department are the first in the nation, outside of a clinical trial setting, to use an FDA-cleared rapid blood test to successfully evaluate patients who are 18 and older with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), including concussions. Results are available in approximately 15 minutes.
To conduct a test, a plasma sample is inserted into the portable device, then the test can quickly provide important information that can help providers determine care and treatment plans. This streamlined process potentially can rule out the need for a CT scan.
“A rapid blood test for evaluating concussions has the potential to be a real game-changer,” said Dr. Jason Wilson, associate professor, Department of Internal Medicine, in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and director of the Emergency Department Clinical Decision Unit, Tampa General. “It provides definitive data as we work to confirm a concussion or a traumatic brain injury.’’
Neurological and cognitive exams have been the primary method of diagnosing a concussion. Typically, CT scans are used to identify a more serious injury such as a brain bleed. The i-STAT TBI Plasma test, developed by Abbott, a Chicago-based healthcare company, uses plasma from a patient’s blood sample to look for markers associated with brain injury to rule out the need for a CT scan.