SPECT in the Diagnosis of Cerebral Changes in Patients in the Intermediate and Long-Term Periods of Combat Explosive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Modern warfare affects persons of the most vital active age. We are talking about predicting the
timing and extent of recovery of impaired functions and performance. Traumatic brain injury is
accompanied by not only a variety of morphological changes, but also a violation of metabolic
processes, contributing to the severity of the injury.
Purpose. To evaluate the efficacy of SPECT with perfusion radiopharmaceuticals in the complex
diagnosis of cerebral changes in patients with post-concussion syndrome as a result of fighting.
Materials and methods. We examined 30 males aged from 29 to 51 years with post-concussion
syndrome of various severity. All patients underwent comprehensive clinical examination, including
neuropsychological testing, ultrasound examination of the main vessels of the head (ultrasound),
single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Effective cerebral blood flow on the SPECT
data was evaluated on the base of original methods and the software "ScintyBrain".
Results. The average diagnostic indicators of neuropsychological testing, the data of
ultrasonography, and scintigraphy of the general population of patients show that patients with
post-contusion syndrome have sufficiently expressed vegetative and cognitive changes; the flow of
blood through the main vessels of the brain is in the normal range on average; effective perfusion
of segments of the brain is slightly reduced.
Conclusion. The results of the SPECT study correlate with the results of neuropsychological testing.
The obtained results let to describe the severity of cerebral changes in patients with post-concussion
syndrome.