PhD defence Ana Mikolic

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a sudden change in brain function or damage to the brain caused by an external force, for instance in a motor vehicle or sports accident, fall or a violent incident. The majority of patients (75-90%) present with “mild” TBI. A substantial proportion of these individuals suffer long term consequences in terms of incomplete return to their preinjury level of functioning, including work, social and everyday activities. In this thesis, we aim to provide a better insight into the treatment and outcome of (mild) TBI and relations with sex/gender, age and comorbidity (PART 1), and to improve the identification of mild TBI patients with a higher risk of suboptimal short-term and longer-term outcomes (PART 2).