The role of rehabilitation psychology in stroke care described through case examples.

BACKGROUND: A stroke event, sometimes referred to as a cerebrovascular accident (CVA), is a sudden and often traumatic life event that results in life-changing consequences with which affected people must cope. There are nearly 800,000 instances of stroke annually in the U.S. (American Heart Association, 2018). Stroke is the leading cause of disability in adults, and more than one-third of people who survive a stroke will have severe disability in the U.S. (Mayo, 2005). Between 35% and 75% of stroke survivors will have significant cognitive impairment (Tatemichi et al., 1994; Nys et al., 2007). An estimated one-third of people suffer depression after stroke (Hackett et al., 2005), about one-fourth experience significant anxiety (Barker-Collo, 2007), and about one-fifth suffer from insomnia (Leppavuoria et al., 2002). These and other stroke-related psychological issues negatively influence rehabilitation and outcomes through a variety of mechanisms. For example, post-stroke depression has been shown to be related to more negative functional consequences (Kneebone et al., 2000; Matsuzaki et al., 2015). Psychological disturbances may affect rehabilitation outcomes through a reduction in adherence to home exercise programs, reduced energy level, increased fatigue, reduced frustration tolerance, and potentially less motivation and hope about the future. OBJECTIVES: This manuscript aims to identify and describe the role of rehabilitation psychology in treating these common post-stroke complaints and, ultimately, optimizing post-stroke outcomes via two case examples. METHODOLOGY: This manuscript describes two cases of individuals in post-acute rehabilitation who had psychological issues which were negatively affecting outcomes. CONCLUSION: Given the abrupt and significant life-changing nature of stroke, it is often necessary to manage a diverse array of psychological issues that often cannot be simply managed via psychotropic medications. Moreover, an understanding of the patients' emotional adjustment and issues can help them maximize their rehabilitation, recovery, and community integration. For the cases discussed, psychology consultations were central in helping optimize their rehabilitation and functional outcomes.

Comparison of the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory and the Rivermead Postconcussion Symptoms Questionnaire.

Objective: This study sought to determine the similarity of constructs measured by the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) and Rivermead Postconcussive Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ) and the potential for interchangeability of scores from the two scales. Setting: Three acute inpatient rehabilitation hospitals in the USA. Participants: 497 community dwelling persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) who completed the NSI and the RPQ during the same assessment. Inclusion criteria were (a) medical documentation of TBI, (b) age 18 to 64 years, (c) capacity to give informed consent, (d) resides in the community, (e) ability to complete all study measures in English, (f) absence of interfering medical or psychiatric condition. Design: Prospective cohort observational study Main Measures: NSI; RPQ Results: Scores from the NSI and RPQ showed a strong association (Spearman's r = 0.89). Exploratory factor analysis showed that items from the two measures loaded on similar factors. A crosswalk between the two measures was created by equating scores from the scales based on percentile ranks. Conclusion: Results indicate substantial conceptual and empirical overlap between the NSI and RPQ. The percentile crosswalk developed from this dataset may allow combined analysis of post-concussive symptoms from datasets that include either the NSI or the RPQ.

Three case studies of nonparaneoplastic limbic encephalitis (NPLE) in young adult males: Onset, course, and recovery following rehabilitation services.

Limbic encephalitis (LE) is a rare neurological disorder characterized by inflammation of the brain caused by autoimmunity or infection. LE has been a difficult to define and diagnose disorder due to the insidious and nonspecific (e.g., irritability, low mood, short-term memory complaints) presentation of early symptoms, as well as inconsistent findings on neuroimaging, lumbar puncture serum analysis, and electroencephalogram. Seizures, memory problems, and psychiatric disturbance are among the earliest and most prominent clinical features. This manuscript describes three adolescent males who developed LE and became psychotic, needed inpatient care, were trialed on various psychotropic medications, and exhibited lingering cognitive and psychiatric issues, though generally had very positive recoveries and return to community activities. There was no history of psychiatric disturbance, developmental disorder, or learning difficulties in any of these three young men. Two of the three cases exhibited a long, insidious symptom onset. None of the adolescents benefitted from antipsychotic medications and did not begin to experience improvement and eventual recovery until intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) was added to their treatment regimen. Neuropsychological consultation and team education was helpful in each of these cases. Neuropsychological findings for each individual are presented.