Objectives: To examine rates of recovery following traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to determine
if ongoing intensive therapy provided for at least 1 year results in continual functional
gains. Design: Retrospective review. Setting: Long-term care facility providing intensive inpatient brain injury rehabilitation.
Participants: 17 persons with severe TBI who received continued intensive restorative therapy.
Interventions: Ongoing, intensive, interdisciplinary rehabilitation lasting at least 1 year. Main Outcome Measures: Combined FIM instrument and Functional Assessment Measure (FIM/FAM) scores recorded
on admission, 2-year postadmission, and on completion of restorative therapy. Percentage
of subjects receiving extended rehabilitation who were discharged to the community.
Results: Average length of rehabilitation was 21 months (range, 12–39mo). All subjects demonstrated
improved functioning as measured by the FIM/FAM throughout the entire period of rehabilitation.
After 12 months of therapy, 12% of subjects were discharged to community. However,
with additional therapy beyond 12 months, a total of 65% were deemed ready for community
discharge. Conclusions: Intensive rehabilitation lasting at least 1 year results in improved functional outcomes
and increased possibility of community re-entry in selected people with TBI.
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Footnotes
Disclosure: None declared.
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Copyright
© 2006 The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
