Anesthetic Care for the Post-concussive Patient: There Are More Questions Than Answers

Purpose of Review: This review informs the practicing clinician regarding the pathophysiology of mild traumatic brain injury and its implication on the anesthetic management of patients presenting for surgery. It highlights several areas where data is sparse that might spark the interest of researchers. It proposes a broad guideline for managing patients who present for surgery. Recent Findings: The post-concussive brain has a vulnerable window of risk in which secondary insult might worsen long-term outcome. Scheduling elective surgery beyond this window of vulnerability might be beneficial. Several biomarkers may prove to be helpful in determining the timing of elective surgery and in risk stratification for the patient undergoing urgent or emergent surgery. Summary: Mild traumatic brain injury is common. Patients often present in the acute care setting for surgical procedures unrelated to their head injury. The care of these patients may influence the natural history of their intracranial pathology and may impact long-term outcomes. In this review, we provide a brief synopsis of the pathophysiology of this disease. We discuss potential anesthetic interactions, offer broad guidelines for anesthetic management based on available data, and suggest areas of future research.