Early team based neuro-rehabilitation after mild traumatic brain injury: a pilot study

Objective: Evaluate study design, procedure, and measurements for future study of early rehabilitation after mild traumatic brain injury. Design: A randomized controlled study was conducted. Subjects/patients: Patients from a county hospital emergency department, diagnosed with mild Traumatic Brain Injury were contacted 2 weeks post-trauma. Methods: Patients who met the inclusion criteria were randomized into 2 groups (n=28). The intervention group received early rehabilitation from a team consisting of physio- and occupational therapists. The control group received usual care. Patient-reported outcomes for measures were fatigue, anxiety and depression, health-related quality of life, physical and activity levels, and sleep after trauma. Data were collected 3 and 16 weeks after trauma. Results: Patient-reported outcomes measures showed improvement in both groups for symptoms, physical and activity levels, sleep quality and quantity. Also, improvement in the sub-scales of fatigue and health- related quality of life but worsening for general fatigue and general health at post-test in both groups. Neither group showed improvement for anxiety or depression: the intervention group rated depression higher, and the control group rated anxiety higher, post-test. Conclusion: Design, procedures, measurements and interventions were feasible but need refinement for a full-scale study.