Traumatic brain injury: Causes, severity, and outcome

Outcome measures are crucial in determining the effectiveness of traumatic brain injury rehabilitation programs. Information readily available about t raumatic brain injured individuals can be useful in predicting outcome. The present study investigates the predictive values of causes, severity, and socio-demographics of traumatic brain injured patients on postinjury impair ment, neurobehavioral status, and length of stay in acute care and rehabili tation. Patients' medical records are examined along six subsets of variabl es: socio-demographics. brain injury severity, specific causes of traumatic brain injury, various types of postinjury impairment, neurobehavioral stat us, and length of stay. Retrospective data of two hundred inpatients discha rged from a Canadian rehabilitation hospital are reviewed. The information obtained will be useful in clinical practice to help maximize resources and refine rehabilitation program planning strategies. (C) 2000 Academic Press .