A comparison was made of 113 consecutive patients who suffered a cerebrovascular accident and were hospitalized at a rehabilitation inpatient unit by dividing them into two groups: one group received the traditional 6-day/wk treatment regimen, and another group received treatment during the entire week (7 days/wk). When the patients were asked whether they had a preference (which did not affect their group assignment), 82% preferred a 6-day/wk program and 18% preferred a 7-day/wk program. The length of inpatient stay for the 57 patients enrolled in the 6-day/wk program was 20.14 days; for the 56 patients enrolled in the 7-day/wk program, the average length of stay was 20.11 days. This represents no significant difference. The functional recoveries were evaluated in areas that can affect length of stay, including dressing, bladder control, ambulation, and problem-solving. Both groups demonstrated significant gains in each domain when the intake and discharge ratings were compared. However, these gains were not significantly different when the 6- and 7-day/wk groups were compared. The results of the study contained herein, therefore, suggest that a 6-day/wk program for patients who have suffered a cardiovascular accident is just as effective as a 7-day/wk program.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Self-rating versus neuropsychological performance of moderate versus severe head-injured patients.

Head-injured patients frequently appear to be inaccurate in judging their cognitive functioning. To examine this clinical impression, self-ratings were compared with neuropsychological test performances. The sample was comprised of 28 patients with severe and 28 with mild-moderate head injuries, and these two groups were further subdivided according to chronicity, i.e. less than or equal to 1 year versus greater than 1 year between the date of injury and the evaluation. The control group of 31 adults was matched according to age and education. Head-injured patients rated themselves lower than normals regardless of severity of injury. Chronicity affected only the self-rating of learning and memory. The severely head-injured were generally less accurate when comparing self-ratings to test performance. However, this was not uniform across cognitive domains. Recommendations for self-assessment in neuropsychology are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Cognitive rehabilitation versus day treatment in head-injured adults: is there an impact on emotional and psychosocial adjustment?

Emotional and psychosocial adjustments are typically the most challenging problems faced by the head injured, but there exists a paucity in research as to how affective problems are best ameliorated. In the present analysis, emotional and psychosocial adjustment were evaluated as part of a study comparing the efficacy of cognitive remediation versus day treatment. Out of 24 head-injured patients, half were randomly assigned into either treatment condition, each conducted 4 days a week over an 8-week span. A more favourable outcome for emotional adjustment was postulated for the day-treatment programme, since it was far more nurturing compared with cognitive remediation, which was thought to be more challenging if not confronting. However, our differential hypothesis for the two treatments was not confirmed, because in both groups there was a lessening of depression as measured by the Katz Adjustment Scale. The need is discussed for providing ongoing structured activities for the head injured in order to facilitate their emotional and psychosocial adjustment.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Predictors of outcome following severe head trauma: follow-up data from the Traumatic Coma Data Bank.

Outcome as a function of employment status or return to school was evaluated in severely head-injured patients. A priori we selected the most salient demographic, physiological, neuropsychological and psychosocial outcome predictors with the aim of identifying which of there variables captured at baseline or 6 months would best predict employability at 6 or 12 months. Based on the patients evaluated at 6 months, 18% of former workers had returned to gainful employment and 62% of former students had returned to school. For those not back to work or school at 6 months, 31% of the former workers and 66% of the former students had returned by 12 months. Age, length of coma, speed for both attending and motor movements, spatial integration, and intact vocabulary were all significantly related to returning to work or school. The three most potent predictors for returning to work or school were intactness of the patient's verbal intellectual power, speed of information processing and age.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Selected cases of poor outcome following a minor brain trauma: comparing neuropsychological and positron emission tomography assessment.

Neuropsychological residua are common particularly in the early stages following a minor traumatic brain injury (TBI), however, a minority of individuals complain of persistent deficits following months or years post-accident. Nine such cases are presented with little or no evidence of brain damage demonstrated according to non-functional neuroimaging (for example CT, MRI), yet their neuropsychological examinations were positive. Since the introduction of positron emission tomography (PET), which captures a functional approach, the question arose as to what extent the two techniques (i.e. PET and neuropsychological examination) are interrelated. All nine minor TBI cases revealed a corroboration between the positive neuropsychological findings confirmed on the PET. The PET procedure documented neuropathology which frequently was pronounced in the frontal and anteriotemporo-frontal regions. Moreover, no significant differences were evident between those five cases with reported loss of consciousness vs. those four cases without.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Oral manifestations of bad habits of children].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Child↗