Early neuropsychological tests as correlates of productivity 1 year after traumatic brain injury: a preliminary matched case-control study

This study explored the relative strength of five neuropsychological tests in correlating with productivity 1 year after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Six moderate-to-severe TBI patients who returned to work at 1-year post-injury were matched with six controls who were unemployed after 1 year based on age, severity of injury, and Functional Independence Measure scores. Five neuropsychological tests were administered to patients during inpatient rehabilitation. Two of the five tests (Symbol Digit and Block Design) discriminated TBI patients based on employment outcome. Symbol Digit and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test were significantly correlated with follow-up Functional Independence Measure scores. Results indicate that neuropsychological measures of visual perception (Block Design), and attention and mental speed (Symbol Digit) may be useful predictors of employment productivity after TBI; whereas attention and mental speed, learning and memory ability (Symbol Digit and Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test) may predict functional outcomes.