Late improvements in mobility after acquired brain injuries in children

The purpose of this investigation was to describe the late improvements in functional mobility in children who have sustained severe acquired anoxic or traumatic brain injuries. Ninety-eight children from a consecutive series of 199 with acquired brain injuries met inclusion criteria. As expected, children with traumatic injuries had better mobility at time of discharge from rehabilitation than did children with anoxic injury. In addition, children with traumatic injuries improved more in mobility status during the first 2 years after injury than did children with anoxic injury. The children who continued to improve in mobility after discharge were unconscious for a shorter time. Children who became community ambulators during the first year after discharge had higher mobility ratings at discharge. Although children who eventually achieved more functional mobility were admitted to rehabilitation service sooner after injury, discriminant analysis revealed that the duration of unconsciousness, and therefore severity of injury, was more closely correlated with the final mobility status.