A Review on Post-Traumatic Aggression

Traumatic brain injury is the first cause of death and disability in children and young adults in worldwide. During the acute phase of recovery from moderate to severe brain injury, a period of post-traumatic confusion state (PTCS) will arise that is a combination of cognitive and behavioral dysfunction. Seven key symptoms of PTCS are identified and measured by Confusion Assessment Protocol (CAP)  Agitation can be part of PTCS in the acute phase or, part of the recovery of consciousness in chronic phase. There are different hypothesis and classifications of acute and chronic post-traumatic aggressive syndromes. While post-traumatic aggression is common, its mechanism, assessment tool, outcome and treatment plans are not well-defined. Understanding the different aspects of post-traumatic aggression; mechanism, differential diagnosis, and treatment are reviewed in this article.