The Mayo Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 outcome measure is superior to UK FIM+FAM in a British military population.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify the most appropriate rehabilitation outcome measure for use in a young adult population with acquired brain injury. METHODS: A 2-year prospective study of patients admitted to a UK military neuro-rehabilitation unit with acquired brain injury to compare the appropriateness of the Functional Independence Measure/Functional Assessment Measure (FIM+FAM) vs the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory Version 4 (MPAI-4) in assessing outcomes. Patients were assessed at admission, discharge and at 4-month follow-up using FIM+FAM and MPAI-4. RESULTS: The FIM+FAM total motor score showed a marked ceiling affect, 42% of patients scored the maximum on admission rising to 80% at discharge. The MPAI-4 did not show significant ceiling effects. The other sub-scales of FIM+FAM and MPAI-4 were generally comparable, no more than 17% achieved ceiling at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first comparative study of FIM+FAM and MPAI-4 in a young adult military population following acquired brain injury. All patients showed improvements in both outcome measures following intensive inpatient rehabilitation. However, the MPAI-4 did not show ceiling effects in motor scores. This measure was, therefore, found to be more appropriate in the cohort.

Successful outcomes following neurorehabilitation in military traumatic brain injury patients in the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre Headley Court is the UK military rehabilitation unit. A pilot study identified the Mayo-Portland Adaptability Inventory-4 (MPAI-4) as the most appropriate rehabilitation outcome measure in young military patients with acquired brain injury. METHODS: MPAI-4 scores were prospectively recorded for patients on admission and discharge. At 4 months, independent living and employment status were recorded. Inclusion criteria were all new admissions with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Before injury, all patients were fully employed and lived independently. RESULTS: In a 3-year period from April 2011, there were 91 TBI patients with complete admission-discharge episodes: by US Department of Defense criteria, 21 were mild, 35 were moderate, and 35 were severe. There was a significant positive relationship between TBI severity and MPAI-4 score on admission (χ = 12.77, df = 2, p = 0.0017).Median age was 27 years, and median duration of admission was 63 days. Employment and independent living status were available for 79 patients at 4 months. Seventy-three patients (92%) were in community-based employment, with 64 (81%) employed in a competitive or transitional work; 6 (8%) were unemployed or in sheltered work. Sixty-nine (87%) were living independently, and 10 (13%) were living with support in their own home, with no one requiring institutional care.Complete MPAI-4 scores were available for 79 patients. There were statistically and clinically significant improvements in MPAI-4 scores between admission and discharge for the overall group: median admission T score was 40.0 (95% confidence interval, 36.0-42.0) and on discharge was 31.0 (95% confidence interval, 27.0-36.0), a nine-point change (Z = 6.53, p < 0.0001). These improvements with rehabilitation were sustained when patients were subdivided by TBI severity or MPAI-4 limitations. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates significant functional improvements in military TBI patients following intensive inpatient multidisciplinary rehabilitation, which includes substantial vocational rehabilitation. At 4 months, 92% were employed, and 87% were living independently. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic study, level V; prognostic/epidemiologic study, level IV.

Pituitary dysfunction after blast traumatic brain injury: The UK BIOSAP study.

OBJECTIVE: Pituitary dysfunction is a recognized consequence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) that causes cognitive, psychological, and metabolic impairment. Hormone replacement offers a therapeutic opportunity. Blast TBI (bTBI) from improvised explosive devices is commonly seen in soldiers returning from recent conflicts. We investigated: (1) the prevalence and consequences of pituitary dysfunction following moderate to severe bTBI and (2) whether it is associated with particular patterns of brain injury. METHODS: Nineteen male soldiers with moderate to severe bTBI (median age = 28.3 years) and 39 male controls with moderate to severe nonblast TBI (nbTBI; median age = 32.3 years) underwent full dynamic endocrine assessment between 2 and 48 months after injury. In addition, soldiers had structural brain magnetic resonance imaging, including diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and cognitive assessment. RESULTS: Six of 19 (32.0%) soldiers with bTBI, but only 1 of 39 (2.6%) nbTBI controls, had anterior pituitary dysfunction (p = 0.004). Two soldiers had hyperprolactinemia, 2 had growth hormone (GH) deficiency, 1 had adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) deficiency, and 1 had combined GH/ACTH/gonadotrophin deficiency. DTI measures of white matter structure showed greater traumatic axonal injury in the cerebellum and corpus callosum in those soldiers with pituitary dysfunction than in those without. Soldiers with pituitary dysfunction after bTBI also had a higher prevalence of skull/facial fractures and worse cognitive function. Four soldiers (21.1%) commenced hormone replacement(s) for hypopituitarism. INTERPRETATION: We reveal a high prevalence of anterior pituitary dysfunction in soldiers suffering moderate to severe bTBI, which was more frequent than in a matched group of civilian moderate to severe nbTBI subjects. We recommend that all patients with moderate to severe bTBI should routinely have comprehensive assessment of endocrine function.

Music therapy for acquired brain injury.

BACKGROUND: Acquired brain injury (ABI) can result in impairments in motor function, language, cognition, sensory processing and emotional disturbances. This may severely reduce a survivor's quality of life. Music therapy has been used in rehabilitation to stimulate brain functions involved in movement, cognition, speech, emotions and sensory perceptions. A systematic review is needed to gauge the efficacy of music therapy as a rehabilitation intervention for people with ABI. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of music therapy with standard care versus standard care alone or standard care combined with other therapies on gait, upper extremity function, communication, mood and emotions, social skills, pain, behavioral outcomes, activities of daily living and adverse events. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (February 2010), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2009), MEDLINE (July 2009), EMBASE (August 2009), CINAHL (March 2010), PsycINFO (July 2009), LILACS (August 2009), AMED (August 2009) and Science Citation Index (August 2009). We handsearched music therapy journals and conference proceedings, searched dissertation and specialist music databases, trials and research registers, reference lists, and contacted experts and music therapy associations. There was no language restriction. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials that compared music therapy interventions and standard care with standard care alone or combined with other therapies for people older than 16 years of age who had acquired brain damage of a non-degenerative nature and were participating in treatment programs offered in hospital, outpatient or community settings. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently assessed methodological quality and extracted data. We present results using mean differences (using post-test scores) as all outcomes were measured with the same scale. MAIN RESULTS: We included seven studies (184 participants). The results suggest that rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) may be beneficial for improving gait parameters in stroke patients, including gait velocity, cadence, stride length and gait symmetry. These results were based on two studies that received a low risk of bias score. There were insufficient data to examine the effect of music therapy on other outcomes. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: RAS may be beneficial for gait improvement in people with stroke. These results are encouraging, but more RCTs are needed before recommendations can be made for clinical practice. More research is needed to examine the effects of music therapy on other outcomes in people with ABI.