Patterns and predictors of follow-up in patients with mild traumatic brain injury.

Background: This study was undertaken to identify factors that influence follow-up for patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI).

Methods: One hundred and ninety-nine consecutive inpatients diagnosed with MTBI at a Trauma Centre (or TC) were monitored for establishment of care with a brain injury specialist after discharge. Bivariate statistics were calculated to determine subject characteristics impacting the decision to pursue TBI-related specialty care.

A "virtually minimal" visuo-haptic training of attention in severe traumatic brain injury.

Background: Although common during the early stages of recovery from severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), attention deficits have been scarcely investigated. Encouraging evidence suggests beneficial effects of attention training in more chronic and higher functioning patients. Interactive technology may provide new opportunities for rehabilitation in inpatients who are earlier in their recovery.

The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Military Traumatic Brain Injury Screening Instrument: determination of sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value.

Background: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is referred to as the signature injury of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Given the prevalence of TBI in military personnel, there is a need for validated instruments tailored to accurately screen for TBI in this population.

Methods: Three hundred service members or veterans underwent a novel screen and a comprehensive diagnostic assessment to identify the occurrence of TBI and/or the presence of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Postconcussive complaints, cognition, symptom attribution and effort among veterans.

The etiology of postconcussive symptoms is not clearly understood. Development of etiological models of those symptoms will be helpful for accurate diagnosis and for planning effective treatment. Such a model should characterize the role of subject characteristics (education, premorbid intelligence), social psychological factors and symptom validity.

Acupuncture for treatment of insomnia in patients with traumatic brain injury: a pilot intervention study.

Objectives: : To assess the efficacy of acupuncture in treating insomnia in traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors as compared to medication, to determine whether acupuncture has fewer cognitive and affective adverse effects than does medication.

Participants: : Twenty-four adult TBI survivors, randomized to acupuncture or control arms.

Setting: : Outpatient rehabilitation clinic.

Tolerance of a virtual reality intervention for attention remediation in persons with severe TBI.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of applying virtual reality and robotics technology to improve attention in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the early stages of recovery.

Methods: A sample of TBI patients (n=18, aged 19-73) who were receiving acute inpatient rehabilitation completed three-dimensional cancellation exercises over two consecutive days in an interactive virtual environment that minimized distractions and that integrated both visual and haptic (tactile) stimuli. Observations of behaviour during the intervention and of the instructions needed to encourage compliance were recorded.

Actigraphy for assessment of sleep in traumatic brain injury: case series, review of the literature and proposed criteria for use.

Primary Objective: To demonstrate that actigraphy is an appropriate means of measuring sleep in patients with TBI and to define parameters for its use in this population.

Research Design: Case series and review of the literature.

Methods And Procedures: Subjects participating in one of two externally funded studies addressing the role of acupuncture in treating insomnia in TBI underwent actigraphy for the purpose of quantifying sleep time.

The effect of sleep medications on cognitive recovery from traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To summarize the literature on the available pharmacotherapy for insomnia and the adverse cognitive effects of those options in persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design: Ovid/MEDLINE databases were searched by using the following key words: "brain injury," "sleep initiation and maintenance disorders," "hypnotics and sedatives," "benzodiazepines," "trazodone," and "neuronal plasticity."

Results: The reviewed literature consistently reported that benzodiazepines and atypical gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonists result in cognitive impairment when plasma levels are at their peak.