The purpose of this review was to systematically evaluate the existing diagnostic approaches of primary blast-induced brain injury through meta-analysis.
✦ The floor
Discussion
Signed responses from readers of the wire.
No direct change to audiological practice is indicated, but audiologists working with military or blast-exposed populations should be aware that blast-induced traumatic brain injury remains diagnostically challenging, which has implications for co-occurring hearing and vestibular assessments.
Accurate diagnosis of blast-induced traumatic brain injury is critical for the large overlap population seen in military audiology, where co-occurring hearing loss and vestibular dysfunction complicate clinical management.
- 01Systematic review and meta-analysis of diagnostic accuracy for blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI).
- 02Evaluates sensitivity and specificity of current diagnostic approaches for primary blast injury.
- 03Relevant to audiologists and vestibular specialists managing military/veteran populations.
- 04Highlights gaps in reliable bTBI detection that may affect co-occurring auditory and vestibular care.
- 05Published in Frontiers in Neurology (DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2026.1845916).
Existing diagnostic approaches for primary blast-induced traumatic brain injury have quantifiable accuracy that can be assessed via meta-analysis.
studypartially supported- PMID
- 42516406
- DOI
- 10.3389/fneur.2026.1845916.
- Journal
- Frontiers in Neurology
- Publication type
- meta_analysis
- Evidence level
- 1a
- Population
- Individuals with suspected blast-induced traumatic brain injury (primarily military populations)
- Intervention
- Diagnostic accuracy evaluation of existing approaches for primary blast-induced traumatic brain injury
- Comparator
- Reference standard diagnosis for blast-induced TBI
Primary outcomes
Diagnostic sensitivity of current bTBI assessment tools; Diagnostic specificity of current bTBI assessment tools