Statistical process control: A feasibility study of the application of time-series measurement in early neurorehabilitation after acquired brain injury.

Background: Progress in early cognitive recovery after acquired brain injury is uneven and unpredictable, and thus the evaluation of rehabilitation is complex. The use of time-series measurements is susceptible to statistical change due to process variation.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of using a time-series method, statistical process control, in early cognitive rehabilitation.

Method: Participants were 27 patients with acquired brain injury undergoing interdisciplinary rehabilitation of attention within 4 months post-injury. The outcome measure, the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, was analysed using statistical process control.

Results: Statistical process control identifies if and when change occurs in the process according to 3 patterns: rapid, steady or stationary performers. The statistical process control method was adjusted, in terms of constructing the baseline and the total number of measurement points, in order to measure a process in change.

Conclusion: Statistical process control methodology is feasible for use in early cognitive rehabilitation, since it provides information about change in a process, thus enabling adjustment of the individual treatment response. Together with the results indicating discernible subgroups that respond differently to rehabilitation, statistical process control could be a valid tool in clinical decision-making. This study is a starting-point in understanding the rehabilitation process using a real-time-measurements approach.