However, this information will be lost after a short period of time and they may not remember that they have seen or spoken to you after only a matter of minutes. You may find that your relative/friend is able to remember information in the here and now, which will allow them to have coherent conversations. Your relative/friend may still have a good memory for past events in their life that happened before their injury, but will be unable to recall new information or events that have occurred since the injury. This presents as an inability to lay down and retain new information. One of the hallmark features of PTA is memory impairment. Strategies such as offering reassurance and distraction with pleasant events can help to reduce the distress associated with PTA. Therefore, challenging someone in PTA is likely to cause a high level of distress. Any mistakes they make in their understanding of their situation and surroundings during this period of time relates to their current perception of reality. In these circumstances, it would be important to remain calm and to avoid confrontation as this may lead to your relative becoming anxious, agitated or distressed. However, there may be times where it is appropriate to offer gentle prompts and cues if your relative is presenting with behaviour that is unusual to them or difficult to cope with. It is important not to correct memory mistakes people make whilst in PTA, as their ability to learn new information is severely compromised. As a result, a member of staff may be required to stay with your relative / friend at all times during this period, for the purpose of ensuring their safety and providing reassurance when necessary. Due to their high levels of confusion, people in PTA often wander and may attempt to leave the ward. Understandably, this situation can be very confusing for the person.Ĭonfusion may also appear worse at night, when the person is more tired and there are fewer cues to help orientate them to their surroundings. they may believe grown up children are still young or that they should be at work). For example, they may talk and behave as if they are somewhere else or living through a different period of their life (e.g. People in PTA may also become fixated on certain ideas or memories, which might appear unusual or strange. This can be very distressing both to the person in PTA and to their family / friends. They may also not recognise people that should be familiar to them. Sometimes the person will not know where they are or what has happened to them. One of the most common symptoms that someone in PTA will present with is disorientation and confusion.
What are the symptoms of PTA? Disorientation and Confusion: This information leaflet outlines some of the typical symptoms that you may encounter during PTA and strategies to help support someone during this period of time. Therefore, any distress experienced during PTA is often forgotten.Ĭoping with PTA can be a very difficult period of time for family, friends and staff, as many of the behaviours shown can be very distressing or difficult to manage. Once PTA resolves, it is unlikely that your relative / friend will have significant memories of this period of time. The staff team working with your relative / friend will therefore be monitoring this period of PTA to help support them and plan for their future rehabilitation. The length of PTA can help us estimate how severe someone’s injury is and can help us understand the nature of their recovery. For some it can last for minutes, whilst for others it can last for weeks or months. PTA is sometimes also referred to as post traumatic confusional state and can occur from the moment of injury until the return of continuous memory. Post Traumatic Amnesia (PTA) is a transient state of confusion, disorientation and memory loss that occurs immediately following a traumatic brain injury. If after reading it you have any concerns or require further explanation, please discuss this with a member of the healthcare team caring for you. This leaflet has been produced to give you general information about Post-traumatic Amnesia.
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