Traumatic Brain Injury Patient, Injury, Therapy, and Ancillary Treatments Associated With Outcomes at Discharge and 9 Months Postdischarge.

Objective: To examine associations of patient and injury characteristics, inpatient rehabilitation therapy activities, and neurotropic medications with outcomes at discharge and 9 months postdischarge for patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: Prospective, longitudinal observational study.

Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation centers.

Readmission to an Acute Care Hospital During Inpatient Rehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: To assess the incidence of, causes for, and factors associated with readmission to an acute care hospital (RTAC) during inpatient rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: Prospective observational cohort.

Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation.

Psychotropic Medication Use During Inpatient Rehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: To describe psychotropic medication administration patterns during inpatient rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their relation to patient preinjury and injury characteristics.

Design: Prospective observational cohort.

Setting: Multiple acute inpatient rehabilitation units or hospitals.

Institutional Variation in Traumatic Brain Injury Acute Rehabilitation Practice.

Objective: To describe institutional variation in traumatic brain injury (TBI) inpatient rehabilitation program characteristics and evaluate to what extent patient factors and center effects explain how TBI inpatient rehabilitation services are delivered.

Design: Secondary analysis of a prospective, multicenter, cohort database.

Setting: TBI inpatient rehabilitation programs.

Cerebral volume loss, cognitive deficit, and neuropsychological performance: comparative measures of brain atrophy: II. Traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in a variable degree of cerebral atrophy that is not always related to cognitive measures across studies. However, the use of different methods for examining atrophy may be a reason why differences exist. The purpose of this manuscript was to examine the predictive utility of seven magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived brain volume or indices of atrophy for a large cohort of TBI patients (n = 65).

Day-of-injury computerized tomography, rehabilitation status, and development of cerebral atrophy in persons with traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To compare day-of-injury (DOI) computerized tomography (CT) findings with acute injury severity markers, disability at acute hospital admission and discharge from inpatient rehabilitation, injury severity markers, and degree of postacute cerebral atrophy on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Design: Retrospective chart review of 240 consecutive traumatic brain injury (TBI) admissions (mean age 31.7 +/- 15.

Post-traumatic amnesia predicts long-term cerebral atrophy in traumatic brain injury.

Primary Objective: To examine post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) and its relation to long-term cerebral atrophy in persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) using objective indicators of PTA duration and Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (QMRI). It was hypothesized that longer PTA would predict later generalized atrophy (increased ventricle-to-brain ratio (VBR)). As a guide in assessing patients with TBI, this study determined the probability of developing chronic cerebral atrophy based on PTA duration.

The early impact of the inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system on stroke rehabilitation case mix, practice patterns, and outcomes.

Unlabelled: DeJong G, Horn SD, Smout RJ, Ryser DK. The early impact of the inpatient rehabilitation facility prospective payment system on stroke rehabilitation case mix, practice patterns, and outcomes.

Objective: To determine the early effects of the inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) prospective payment system (PPS) on stroke rehabilitation case mix, practice patterns, and outcomes.

An exploration of central nervous system medication use and outcomes in stroke rehabilitation.

Unlabelled: Conroy B, Zorowitz R, Horn SD, Ryser DK, Teraoka J, Smout RJ. An exploration of central nervous system medication use and outcomes in stroke rehabilitation.

Objective: To study associations between neurobehavioral impairments, use of neurotropic medications, and outcomes for inpatient stroke rehabilitation, controlling for a variety of confounding variables.

Another look at observational studies in rehabilitation research: going beyond the holy grail of the randomized controlled trial.

Horn SD, DeJong G, Ryser DK, Veazie PJ, Teraoka J. Another look at observational studies in rehabilitation research: going beyond the holy grail of the randomized controlled trial. This commentary compares randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical practice improvement (CPI) approaches to study design, evaluates their relative advantages and disadvantages, and discusses their implications for rehabilitation research and evidence-based practice.

Measuring medical complexity during inpatient rehabilitation after traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To compare the performance of 3 severity of illness (SOI) indices--the Comprehensive Severity Index (CSI), All Patient Refined Diagnosis Related Groups Severity of Illness, case-mix group (CMG)--and 5 well-known neurologic parameters, as measures of medical complexity.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation center within a level I trauma center.

Alcohol abuse and traumatic brain injury: quantitative magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological outcome.

Prior or concurrent alcohol use at the time of traumatic brain injury (TBI) was examined in terms of post-injury atrophic changes measured by quantitative analysis of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and neuropsychological outcome. Two groups of TBI subjects were examined: those with a clinically significant blood alcohol level (BAL) present at the time of injury (TBI + BAL) and those without a significant BAL (TBI-only). To explore the potential impact of both acute and chronic alcohol use, subjects in both groups were further clustered into one of four subgroups (NONE, MILD, MODERATE or HEAVY) based upon available information regarding their pre-injury alcohol use.