The Defense Veterans and Brain Injury Center and the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, a partnership of health care providers and researchers, recently launched a section on www.health.mil to provide comprehensive and accurate numbers on individuals with TBI throughout the military.

TBI is a ‘‘blow or jolt to the head,” which causes an alteration of unconsciousness and can last a few seconds or longer, said Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, director of strategic communications for MHS.

Symptoms of a mild TBI, commonly referred to as a concussion, usually resolve within a matter of hours or days, but a small percentage of patients can have symptoms that last for several months, said Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey Cook, of the National Naval Medical Center’s Behavioral Health Department. Fortunately, most TBIs in the military are mild and resolve fully within a matter of weeks.

Cook added that moderate and severe TBIs can create long-term disability and require intensive treatment and can cause long term memory loss or permanent brain damage.

Until now, TBI numbers came from multiple Defense Department sources such as screening questionnaires and unit surveys, not from medical diagnoses, said Col. Robert DeFraites, director of the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center.

Earlier this year, MHS focused on collection of TBI numbers by using the diagnostic codes in the military’s electronic medical records, thus providing a better representation of TBI cases within the military, DeFraites said.

About a month ago, MHS launched the Web page after several months of planning and collaboration with clinical experts and statisticians, Kilpatrick said.

‘‘We ended up with a product we think will let everyone know we’re concerned about TBI,” Kilpatrick said. ‘‘We want to make sure we educate our [patients] and their family members.”

The online TBI numbers, which the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center analyzes, are posted from the last eight years and the current year. These numbers will be updated on a quarterly basis.

As of Oct. 7, there were more than 20,000 diagnoses of TBI for 2009 — more than twice as many cases as there were in 2000, according to the Web site.

Of those people who suffer from a concussion, 95 percent will fully recover, Kilpatrick said. Physicians still have uncertainties surrounding the remaining five percent, as they are still learning the long-term effects of TBI. This online database of information will allow researchers to follow diagnoses over time and therefore, he said, help answer many questions.

In addition, the Web site will offer support and disclose more information for patients and their families, Kilpatrick said.

‘‘We’re really excited about this,” Kilpatrick said.

Kilpatrick added that NNMC is a major treatment facility and it will benefit from the information on the Web site.

Cook agreed patients and staff will be able to find useful information on the Web site. In addition to educating patients and their families about TBI, NNMC’s Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury program provides assessment and treatment services for wounded warriors.

Service members returning from Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom (OIF⁄OEF) are screened for TBI and other conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Inpatients with TBI benefit from a full range of services at NNMC, including rehabilitation, individual and family counseling, neuropsychological testing, neuropsychiatry and case management.

In addition, the program’s outpatient clinic provides multi-disciplinary evaluation and treatment to OIF⁄OEF patients with war-related conditions including TBI, PTSD, relationship issues and substance abuse. The program has grown significantly over the past two years, Cook said.

For more on TBI statistics and information, visit www.health.mil.