Assessments and interventions on body functions, structures and activity to prepare adults with acute spinal cord injury or disease for participation: a scoping review.

Introduction: In the acute phase after a spinal cord injury or disease (SCI/D), various therapeutic assessments and interventions are applied with the goal of restoring structures, preventing complications and preparing the patient as best as possible for further activity and finally participation. The goal was to identify and evaluate the available evidence on assessments and interventions for body functions and structures to prepare adults with acute spinal cord SCI/D for activity and participation during the first 14 days. Methods: A scoping review was conducted. The search was performed on June 19, 2023 using the databases PubMed, PEDro, Cochrane library and Embase. These were screened for studies including patients with acute SCI/D and physiotherapeutic or occupational therapy assessments and interventions. Only studies in English or German published between 2012 and 2023 were included. Results: Twelve publications met the inclusion criteria, namely three systematic reviews, two randomized controlled trials, two observational studies and five clinical practice guidelines. Assessments as the Spinal Cord Independence Measure, as well as exercises such as daily passive mobilization of body structures against contractures were used in the entire population, while others were only applied in subgroups of SCI/D such as the Graded Redefined Assessment of Strength, Sensation and Prehension or functional electrical stimulation with and without additional movements. The methodological quality of the studies found varied greatly from good to very poor. Discussion: Heterogeneity in research design and study population as well as lack of high-quality studies do not cover the standard of clinical management in the acute phase and further comprehensive research is needed.

Functional independence and agitation outcomes following inpatient rehabilitation after structural brain injury: A retrospective cohort study.

The study's purpose was to analyze outcomes of patients with severe behavioural disturbances after acquired brain injury (ABI) in order to identify predictors of discharge destination from a specialized unit (SU) of a Swiss neurorehabilitation facility. Retrospective analysis of 85 patients. Potential predictors of the main outcome discharge destination were assessed with a correlation analysis. The Agitation Behaviour Scale (ABS), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), length of stay (LOS) and pre-living situation were tested in a logistic regression analysis. Twenty-nine patients were institutionalized and 56 patients went home. Discharge destination was significantly correlated to ABS score at discharge from SU (rs = -.33, p = .002), total FIM score on admission to the SU (rs = .25, p = .022), total FIM score at discharge from the SU (rs = .37, p < .001), LOS at the SU (rs = -.36, p = .001), and LOS after discharge of the SU (rs = .36, p = .001). Multivariate analysis showed that FIM scores at discharge (OR = 1.03, p = .008), and LOS at SU (OR = 0.98, p = .017) predicted discharge destination significantly. FIM or LOS may be important predictors in planning discharge destination in patients with severe behavioural disturbances. Further prospective studies are critically needed to better understand the complexity of interactions amongst important predictive factors.