Introduction. High proportion of traumatic brain injury in the overall structure of morbidity and injuries of the population as one of the causes of temporary and permanent disability and mortality determines the urgency of the problem. Patients who have undergone traumatic brain injury have a number of pathological disorders, including changes in the micronutrient metabolism of iodine and chromium, and their deficiency or excess, in particular in the case of traumatic brain injury may be the trigger for a number of pathological reactions and will require appropriate correction. The aim of the study. To investigate the iodine and chromium content in the blood serum of victims outside the conflict zone and in the fighters of the joint forces organization (JFO) with traumatic brain injuries in the acute and intermediate periods, and to find out their features depending on the severity of the injury and the time from its occurrence. Materials and methods. Method of atomic-absorption of new spectrophotometry determined the content of iodine and chromium in the serum of the blood of 283 patients outside the conflict zone and 218 fighters of JFO with mild and moderate traumatic brain injury in the acute and intermediate periods (1-2, 3-5, 7-10, 14-21 days, after 1 and 3 months after injury). The control group consisted of 20 healthy individuals. Statistical analysis was performed using the program «Statistica 6.0». Results. The content of serum iodine in the blood in the victims outside the conflict zone in the presence of concussion, contusion of mild and moderate severity in the acute and intermediate periods did not differ from that of the control group (p-value more than 0.05). In the group of fighters of JFO, the content of iodine in serum of the blood compared with the indicator in the control group significantly decreased in the presence of concussion and contusion of moderate severity at 14-21 day, 1 month after brain injury (p-value less than 0.05), and for contusion of mild severity was significantly lower by 7-10, 14-21 days, 1 and 3 months after brain injury (p-value less than 0.05). No significant changes of the iodine content in the blood serum were found in victims outside the conflict zone between the periods of the study in the presence of concussion and contusion of mild severity, and contusion of mild severity and contusion moderate severity, except for its significant reduction by 3-5 days (p-value less than 0.05), and in the presence of concussion and contusion of moderate severity significant reduction of the iodine content in the blood serum was detected for 1-2, 3-5 and 7-10 days (p-value less than 0.05). In fighters of JFO no significant differences of iodine content in the blood serum were observed between the periods of the study with concussion and contusion of mild severity (p-value more than 0.05), concussion and contusion of moderate severity (p-value more than 0.05), contusion of mild severity and contusion of moderate severity (p-value more than 0.05). Comparison of identical groups of victims outside the conflict zone and fighters JFO, established the probability of differences between the study periods in all surveyed groups, both in the acute and in the intermediate periods in the presence of concussion (p-value less than 0.05), contusion of mild severity (p < 0.05), contusion of moderate severity (p-value less than 0.05). The content of chromium in the blood serum of victims outside the conflict zone and in fighters of JFO at all degrees of severity of traumatic brain injury and during the entire observation period was insignificantly reduced both in terms of indicators in the control group and between periods of the study (p-value more than 0.05). Significant differences in the content of chromium in serum of the blood in the groups of victims outside the conflict zone between the study periods were noted on 1-2, 3-5, 7-10, 14-21 days, 1 and 3 months after brain injury in the presence of concussion and contusion of mild severity (p-value less than 0.05), concussion and contusion of moderate severity (p-value less than 0.05), contusion of mild severity and contusion of moderate severity (p-value less than 0.05), and in the groups of fighters of JFO, the significant difference in serum of the blood of content chromium was detected in the presence of concussion and contusion of mild severity only for 3-5 days (p-value less than 0.05), and with concussion and contusion of moderate severity, as well as contusion of mild severity and contusion of moderate severity significant differences were observed during the entire study period (p-value less than 0.05). Comparison of identical groups of victims outside the conflict zone and fighters of JFO did not establish the probability of differences between the study periods in the presence of concussion (p-value more than 0.05), but in cases of contusion of mild severity (p-value less than 0.05), as well as in the presence of contusion of moderate severity (p-value less than 0.05), the probability of differences was on 1-2, 3-5, 7-10, 14-21 days, 1 and 3 months after brain injury. Conclusions. The changes of the iodine and chromium content in the blood serum of fighters of joint forces organization are more pronounced both during the study periods and depending on the severity of the injury, compared with the victims outside the conflict zone.
The Impact of a Care Transitions Intervention on People With Brain Injuries and Their Caregivers