Post-Concussion

[rat115]

Wondering if anyone's ever seen a pt who had a concussion within the past few weeks who started having problems with summer high temperatures? This pt, I was told, normally does fine in temps around 100 degrees F and is actually more comfortable in the high temps than when it's around freezing.

Pt was c/o dizziness and nausea when in the high temps. These s/s improved to where the pt denied feeling them anymore within 5-10 minutes of getting into air conditioning and returned within the same timeframe of going back out into the heat. Pt noted drinking plenty of water and eating normally.

I'm wondering if it's the pt's recent concussion and pt not being completely healed from the concussion.

Anyone else seen anything like this in the field?

[Timmy]

I can’t find any literature to link concussion and effects of heat and I certainly have not heard of such a case.

As you would know heat is a vasodilator so it’s not uncommon for an individuals blood pressure to drop and to display such symptoms as you mention secondary to exposure to the elements and heated environmental conditions.

Generally speaking, symptoms of a concussion normally subside within a week or two and can sometimes be accompanied with other neurological symptomatology but with ongoing symptoms you need to investigate further into a possible minor ABI or closed head injury.

I assume the patient had a head CT after the incident occurred? The only other suggestion I can offer is maybe the patient sustained some trauma to their hypothalamus, but you’d tend to see uncontrolled temperature regulation in both hot and cold conditions.

[rat115]

Yep, there was a CT done after the head injury.

I know the person personally. The issues with the high temps has gotten better since I posted.