Venous thromboembolism: exploring incidence and utility of screening in individuals with dual diagnosis.

Objectives: The development of venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication following spinal cord injury (SCI) and brain injury (BI), leading to significant morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to explore the incidence of VTE in patients with the dual diagnosis (DD) of SCI and concomitant BI using ultrasonography.

Design: Retrospective study.

Venous thromboembolism: Exploring incidence and utility of screening in spinal cord injury.

To assess the incidence and possible risk factors for venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients admitted to a SCI rehabilitation center. Retrospective review. Acute neurorehabilitation hospital specializing in SCI.

Venous Thromboembolism: Exploring Incidence and Utility of Screening in Individuals With Brain Injury.

Objective: To determine the incidence of VTE in the population with brain injuries (BIs) using ultrasonography, and to assess the risk of pulmonary embolism (PE) development and/or bleeding complications related to anticoagulation.

Design: Retrospective study.

Setting: Acute rehabilitation hospital.

The intersection of cerebral fat embolism syndrome and traumatic brain injury: a literature review and case series.

Objective: To review the historical, clinical, radiographic, and outcome characteristics of individuals diagnosed with an acquired brain injury (ABI) due to cerebral fat embolism syndrome (CFES) with and without features of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: A retrospective chart review of individuals with the diagnosis of CFES admitted to an ABI rehabilitation program. Cases were divided into two cohorts 1) individuals with evidence of classic features of CFES alone, and 2) individuals with evidence of CFES in conjunction with features of TBI.

Optimized Sleep After Brain Injury (OSABI): A Pilot Study of a Sleep Hygiene Intervention for Individuals With Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

. Disrupted sleep is common after traumatic brain injury (TBI) particularly in the inpatient rehabilitation setting where it may affect participation in therapy and outcomes. Treatment of sleep disruption in this setting is varied and largely unexamined.

Disrupted sleep predicts next day agitation following moderate to severe brain injury.

: Disrupted sleep is common during acute recovery from traumatic brain injury (TBI) and has been linked to daytime agitation. This study investigated the relationship among nighttime sleep efficiency (SE), total sleep time (TST), wakefulness after sleep onset (WASO), and number of wake bouts (NWB) as measured by actigraphy to observer ratings of agitation for patients with TBI who were undergoing inpatient rehabilitation. : This is a retrospective, observational study of a convenience sample of 65 individuals admitted to TBI inpatient rehabilitation who were monitored with actigraphy and the Agitated Behaviour Scale (ABS) for the first 72 h.

Objective measures of sleep and wakefulness in patients with moderate to severe brain injury on an inpatient rehabilitation unit. Pearls and pitfalls of actigraph monitoring.

Background: As awareness of disrupted sleep in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) increases so does interest in finding objective measures of sleep. As a result, many clinicians are turning to actigraphs to monitor sleep in patients with altered consciousness. Actigraphs are accelerometers which have been used in sleep research for over four decades.

A hidden reservoir of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus in patients newly admitted to an acute rehabilitation hospital.

Objective: To find hidden reservoirs of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) via active surveillance cultures for MRSA and VRE in newly admitted patients.

Design: A prospective, cohort, screening study. The period of surveillance was 3 months in the winter of 2006-2007.

Predictors of new-onset depression after mild traumatic brain injury.

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most common form of TBI. Most people recover after mild TBI, but a small percentage continues to have persistent problems, predominantly depression. There is, however, minimal literature on the risk factors associated with mild TBI depression.

Aggression after traumatic brain injury: prevalence and correlates.

Aggression after traumatic brain injury (TBI) is common but not well defined. Sixty-seven participants with first-time TBI were evaluated for aggression within 3 months of injury. The prevalence of aggression was found to be 28.

Return of memory and sleep efficiency following moderate to severe closed head injury.

Objective: Sleep disturbance is common in the subacute recovery phase following brain injury. A previous study from the authors' group found 68% of patients with closed head injury (CHI) had disrupted sleep on a rehabilitation unit. In the present study, the authors investigated whether improvement in sleep efficiency correlates with duration of posttraumatic amnesia (PTA) after CHI.

Cerebrospinal fluid evidence of increased extra-mitochondrial glucose metabolism implicates mitochondrial dysfunction in multiple sclerosis disease progression.

In contrast to relapse, the mechanisms of multiple sclerosis (MS) disease progression are less understood and appear not to be exclusively inflammatory in nature. In this pilot study we investigated the relationship between disturbed CNS energy metabolism and MS disease progression. We tested the hypothesis that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations of sorbitol, fructose, and lactate, all metabolites of extra-mitochondrial glucose metabolism, would be elevated in secondary progressive (SP) MS patients and would be associated with worsening neurologic disability.

Prevalence and types of sleep disturbances acutely after traumatic brain injury.

Primary Objective: To assess the prevalence of and risk factors for sleep disturbances in the acute post-traumatic brain injury (TBI) period.

Research Design: Longitudinal, observational study.

Methods And Procedures: Fifty-four first time closed-head injury patients were recruited and evaluated within 3 months after injury.

Manipulation of central nervous system plasticity: a new dimension in the care of neurologically impaired patients.

Research in the neurosciences in recent decades has shown that the central nervous system is not a structurally static organ as was believed previously, but instead is a dynamic system that constantly undergoes structural and functional reorganization. The term brain plasticity refers to the constant cellular and intercellular modifications that occur during normal development and after neurologic injury and result in changes in neurologic function. The discovery that central nervous system plasticity after injury can be directed toward functional improvement with use of specific modalities has opened up a new dimension in the care of the neurologically impaired patient, termed restorative neurology.