Abstract
Objective
To determine the accuracy of self-reported length of coma and posttraumatic amnesia
(PTA) in persons with medically verified traumatic brain injury (TBI) and to investigate
factors that affect self-report of length of coma and PTA duration.
Design
Prospective cohort study.
Setting
Specialized rehabilitation center with inpatient and outpatient programs.
Participants
Persons (N=242) with medically verified TBI who were identified from a registry of
persons who had previously participated in TBI-related research.
Intervention
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measures
Self-reported length of coma and self-reported PTA duration.
Results
Review of medical records revealed that the mean medically documented length of coma
and PTA duration was 6.9±12 and 19.2±22 days, respectively, and the mean self-reported
length of coma and PTA duration was 16.7±22 and 106±194 days, respectively. The average
discrepancy between self-report and medical record for length of coma and PTA duration
was 8.2±21 and 64±176 days, respectively. Multivariable regression models revealed
that time since injury, performance on cognitive tests, and medical record values
were associated with self-reported values for both length of coma and PTA duration.
Conclusions
In this investigation, persons with medically verified TBI showed poor accuracy in
their self-report of length of coma and PTA duration. Discrepancies were large enough
to affect injury severity classification. Caution should be exercised when considering
self-report of length of coma and PTA duration.
Keywords
List of abbreviations:
GCS (Glasgow Coma Scale), PTA (posttraumatic amnesia), TBI (traumatic brain injury)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: November 20, 2014
Footnotes
Supported by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, U.S. Department of Education (grants nos. H133B090023 and H133A120020).
Disclosures: none.
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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