Rehabilitation of persons with traumatic brain injury

The objective of this NIH Consensus Statement is to inform the biomedical research and clinical practice communities of the results of the NIH Consensus Development Conference on Rehabilitation of Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury. The statement provides state-of-the-art information regarding effective rehabilitation measures for persons who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) and presents the conclusions and recommendations of the consensus panel regarding these issues. In addition, the statement identifies those areas that deserve further investigation. Upon completion of this educational activity, the reader should possess a clear working clinical knowledge of the state of the art regarding this topic. The target audience for this statement includes, but is not limited to, pediatricians, family practitioners, internists, neurologists, physiatrists, psychologists, and behavioral medicine specialists.

Participants were a non-Federal, nonadvocate, 16-member panel representing the fields of neuropsychology, neurology, psychiatry, behavioral medicine, family medicine, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, speech and hearing, occupational therapy, nursing, epidemiology, biostatistics and the public. In addition, 23 experts from these same fields presented data to the panel and a conference audience of 883.

The literature was searched through Medline and an extensive bibliography of references was provided to the panel and the conference audience. Experts prepared abstracts with relevant citations from the literature. A compendium of evidence was prepared by the panel which included a contribution from a patient with TBI, a report from an Evidence Based Practice Center of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, and a report from the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Scientific evidence was given precedence over clinical anecdotal experience.

The panel, answering predefined questions, developed their conclusions based on the scientific evidence presented in open forum and the scientific literature. The panel composed a draft statement that was read in its entirety and circulated to the experts and the audience for comment. Thereafter, the panel resolved conflicting recommendations and released a revised statement at the end of the conference. The panel finalized the revisions within a few weeks after the conference. The draft statement was made available on the World Wide Web immediately following its release at the conference and was updated with the panel's final revisions.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) results principally from vehicular incidents, falls, acts of violence, and sports injuries, and is more than twice as likely in males as in females. The estimated incidence rate is 100 per 100,000 persons with 52,000 annual deaths. The highest incidence is among persons 15 to 24 years of age and 75 years and older, with an additional less striking peak in incidence in children ages 5 and younger. Since TBI may result in lifelong impairment of an individual's physical, cognitive, and psychosocial functioning and prevalence is estimated to be 2.5 million to 6.5 million individuals, TBI is a disorder of major public health significance. Furthermore, mild TBI is significantly under diagnosed and the likely societal burden therefore even greater. Given the large toll of TBI and absence of a cure, prevention is of paramount importance. However, the focus of this conference was the evaluation of rehabilitative measures available for the cognitive and behavioral consequences of TBI. Although studies are relatively limited, available evidence supports the use of certain cognitive and behavioral rehabilitation strategies for individuals with TBI. This research needs to be replicated in larger, more definitive clinical trials. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)