Sleep disturbance after pediatric traumatic brain injury: critical knowledge gaps remain for the critically injured

Abstract

Cydni N Williams,1 Miranda M Lim,2–5 Steven A Shea5 1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Critical Care, 2Department of Neurology, 3Department of Medicine, 4Department of Behavioral Neurosciences, 5Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USATraumatic brain injury (TBI), the alteration of brain function or brain pathology following external force, is common in children. TBI affects the sleep of victims, and poor sleep itself can impair recovery from TBI. Due to the developing brains of children, it is especially important to understand the complex interactions between sleep and TBI. Such understanding could lead toward optimizing recovery from TBI in children. Thus, here, we introduce the main issues in this field with a specific focus on the pediatric population and point out the important gaps in knowledge that need to be filled.

Keywords

• Editorial
• Traumatic brain injury