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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22263/2312-4156.2026.4.9

 

Yu.V. Alekseyenko
Diagnostics features of mild traumatic brain injury: modern approaches and prospects for improvement
Vitebsk State Order of Peoples’ Friendship Medical University, Vitebsk, Republic of Belarus

Vestnik VGMU. 2026;25(4):9-18.

Abstract.
Despite the widespread use of neuroimaging methods, reliable diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injuries remains challenging, since it is based on subjective and rapidly reversible clinical manifestations, as well as on the exclusion of more severe structural injuries to brain tissue, which is insufficient to resolve many tasks of expert-legal nature. The aim of this publication is to systematize the latest data and research areas on mild traumatic brain injuries to improve diagnostic reliability and optimize the management of patients, including general practitioners. Transient disturbances of consciousness and memory at the time of injury, as well as a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13-15 for this category of patients, remain the main diagnostic criteria. Nevertheless, they are quite challenging clinical phenomena for accurate assessment and interpreting, especially in retrospective analyses of the event. In concussion, there is a wide spectrum of consciousness changes, and the detectability of amnesia depends on proactive questioning during the initial examination. Analysis of the literature and results of our own studies show that the time factor in seeking medical care and the initial evaluation of patients with mild traumatic brain injuries is the most crucial condition for diagnostic reliability. A personalized approach based on multivariate analysis of components of CNS injury, including the identification of blood neurobiomarkers, together with assessment of the influence of modifying factors, can substantially increase diagnostic reliability, as well as to determine the prognosis of the recovery rate of neurological function and patients’ well-being. Further refinement and implementation of clinical protocols for the diagnosis of mild traumatic brain injury and the initial management of affected patients are needed, taking into account various clinical situations and the time of the initial medical examination.

Keywords:mild traumatic brain injury, concussion, mild brain contusion, classification, diagnosis, and management.

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Submitted 08.07.2026
Accepted 27.08.2026

Information about authors:

Yuriy V. Alekseyenko – Candidate of Medical Sciences, associate professor, head of the Chair of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Vitebsk State Order of Peoples’ Friendship Medical University, e-mail: Этот адрес электронной почты защищён от спам-ботов. У вас должен быть включен JavaScript для просмотра..

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