Patients who have experienced even minor-appearing head injuries should be suspected of having a brain injury, especially if they:

Patients who are taking blood-thinning medications, such as anticoagulants or antiplatelet agents, are at an increased risk for bleeding complications, including intracranial hemorrhages, even from seemingly minor head injuries. This is crucial because the anticoagulants can prevent normal blood clotting, allowing for bleeding inside the skull to occur more easily and potentially become more severe.

In these cases, even a minor head injury could lead to significant complications due to the disrupted coagulation process. Therefore, it is vital for EMTs to maintain a high index of suspicion for possible brain injuries in patients on such medications, as the consequences of an undiagnosed injury can be devastating.

The other options, while potentially relevant in assessing head injury, do not carry the same level of risk for brain injury as blood-thinning medications do. For instance, the absence of skull deformities does not rule out brain injury, as many brain injuries can occur without skull fractures. Minor abrasions are typically superficial and do not indicate an underlying injury. A history of Alzheimer disease may influence a patient's cognitive status, but it does not inherently increase the risk for brain injury associated with a head trauma.