A study published in the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation suggests a link between the functional level of pediatric patients on admission with traumatic brain injury and their likelihood of functional gains during rehabilitation.

The research team, affiliated with Kessler Foundation and Children’s Specialized Hospital, examined the records of 531 children with acquired brain injury—298 with traumatic brain injury (TBI), and 233 with nontraumatic brain injury (nTBI)—and compared the predictive value of their baseline functional independence on rehabilitation outcomes.

The children’s self care, mobility, and cognition were assessed using WeeFIM, a multidimensional measure of functional independence, upon their admission to inpatient rehabilitation, and at discharge, explains a media release from Kessler Foundation.

Overall, children with TBI were likely to make larger gains than children with nTBI. For both groups, high mobility on admission was associated with large gains. Among those with low mobility, however, children with TBI were much more likely to make large gains than their counterparts with nTBI. Children with nTBI who had low or high functional levels at admission were likely to have smaller gains and slower recovery, in comparison with the outcomes after TBI.

“These results show the value of measuring functional independence in children at the start of their brain injury rehabilitation process,” says lead author Cherylynn Marino, PhD, in the release. “This will enable us to provide better counseling for the parents of these children, and lays the groundwork for tailoring treatments to optimize outcomes for children recovering from brain injury.”

[Source(s): Kessler Foundation, PRWeb]