Feasibility of a home-based environmental enrichment paradigm to enhance purposeful activities in adults with traumatic brain injury: a case series

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Devina S. Kumar ◽  
James C. Galloway
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Home Based

scholarly journals Remotely delivered environmental enrichment intervention for traumatic brain injury: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. e039767
Author(s):  
Zorry Belchev ◽  
Mary Ellene Boulos ◽  
Julia Rybkina ◽  
Kadeen Johns ◽  
Eliyas Jeffay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Active Control ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Spatial Navigation ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Hippocampal Atrophy ◽  
Active Control Group ◽  
Navigation Group

IntroductionIndividuals with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (m-sTBI) experience progressive brain and behavioural declines in the chronic stages of injury. Longitudinal studies found that a majority of patients with m-sTBI exhibit significant hippocampal atrophy from 5 to 12 months post-injury, associated with decreased cognitive environmental enrichment (EE). Encouragingly, engaging in EE has been shown to lead to neural improvements, suggesting it is a promising avenue for offsetting hippocampal neurodegeneration in m-sTBI. Allocentric spatial navigation (ie, flexible, bird’s eye view approach), is a good candidate for EE in m-sTBI because it is associated with hippocampal activation and reduced ageing-related volume loss. Efficacy of EE requires intensive daily training, prohibitive within most current health delivery systems. The present protocol is a novel, remotely delivered and self-administered intervention designed to harness principles from EE and allocentric spatial navigation to offset hippocampal atrophy and potentially improve hippocampal functions such as navigation and memory for patients with m-sTBI.Methods and analysisEighty-four participants with chronic m-sTBI are being recruited from an urban rehabilitation hospital and randomised into a 16-week intervention (5 hours/week; total: 80 hours) of either targeted spatial navigation or an active control group. The spatial navigation group engages in structured exploration of different cities using Google Street View that includes daily navigation challenges. The active control group watches and answers subjective questions about educational videos. Following a brief orientation, participants remotely self-administer the intervention on their home computer. In addition to feasibility and compliance measures, clinical and experimental cognitive measures as well as MRI scan data are collected pre-intervention and post-intervention to determine behavioural and neural efficacy.Ethics and disseminationEthics approval has been obtained from ethics boards at the University Health Network and University of Toronto. Findings will be presented at academic conferences and submitted to peer-reviewed journals.Trial registration numberVersion 3, ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT04331392).

Postural neurologic deficits after decompressive craniectomy: A case series of sinking skin flap syndrome in traumatic brain injury

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Emma A. Bateman ◽  
Jordan VanderEnde ◽  
Keith Sequeira ◽  
Heather M. MacKenzie
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Rare Complication ◽  
Skin Flap ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Cognitive Outcome ◽  
Definitive Treatment ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Neurologic Deficits ◽  
The Impact

BACKGROUND: Hemicraniectomy to manage raised intracranial pressure following traumatic brain injury (TBI) has improved survival but may increase the incidence of Sinking Skin Flap Syndrome (SSFS). SSFS is a clinical syndrome in which patients with craniectomy develop objective neurologic abnormalities due to the pressure of the atmosphere on the unprotected brain, often presenting with postural headaches and neurologic deficits that localize to the craniectomy site. Previously thought to be a rare complication of craniectomy after TBI, evidence suggests SSFS is under-recognized. OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical and radiographic features leading to diagnosis and the impact of temporizing and definitive management of SSFS on outcomes in inpatients with moderate/severe TBI. METHODS: Two patients’ symptoms, qualitative behaviour observation, physical and cognitive outcome measures, and neuroimaging pre- and post-temporizing measures and cranioplasty are presented. RESULTS: Both patients demonstrated partial improvements with temporizing measures and substantial improvements in functional, cognitive, physical, and rehabilitation outcomes from the cranioplasty and resolution of SSFS. CONCLUSIONS: Rehabilitation care providers are critical to the timely diagnosis and management of SSFS, including the use of temporizing measures and advocacy for definitive treatment with cranioplasty. These cases highlight the diverse clinical presentations and importance of SSFS diagnosis to improve patient outcomes.

Keep the Brain Cool—Endovascular Cooling in Patients With Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: A Case Series Study

Neurosurgery ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 867-873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlene Fischer ◽  
Peter Lackner ◽  
Ronny Beer ◽  
Raimund Helbok ◽  
Stephanie Klien ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Severe Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Brain Cool ◽  
Case Series Study ◽  
Endovascular Cooling ◽  
Series Study ◽  
The Brain

scholarly journals Cognitive rehabilitation effectiveness for severe to moderate traumatic brain injury: case series

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 437-441
Author(s):  
Ahlam Ibrahim Hamami
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Cognitive Rehabilitation ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Rehabilitation Program ◽  
Computer Assisted ◽  
Neuropsychological Rehabilitation ◽  
Case Series Study ◽  
Series Study

Objective: This case series study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a holistic approach of a computer-assisted and traditional neuropsychological rehabilitation program in improving some cognitive functions in patients who sustained a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: The case series study followed a single-case design, with an A-B-A-B design and was conducted in the rehabilitation center at King Fahad Medical City-Saudi Arabia between Aug 2015 and March 2016. Participants comprised 5 males with moderate-to-severe TBI and persistent cognitive impairments. The computerized model included known software programs for cognitive rehabilitation to improve this rehabilitation process. The program period was six weeks for each case, all focusing on executive functions, memory, and attention. Results: three out of the five cases improved remarkably in their attentional, executive, and related memory functions; with one showing moderate improvement and the five-case showing little improvement. Conclusion: The holistic approach of the neuropsychological rehabilitation program is effective for some TBI cases in improving their cognitive and psychosocial functioning, alongside vocational outcomes, as reported in the follow-up interviews of the patients and their families. More research is required to contribute to the current literature and for the study's findings to be further analyzed for these interventions.

Do long-term results justify decompressive craniectomy after severe traumatic brain injury?

2008 ◽  
Vol 109 (4) ◽  
pp. 685-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias H. Morgalla ◽  
Bernd E. Will ◽  
Florian Roser ◽  
Marcos Tatagiba
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Intracranial Pressure ◽  
Decompressive Craniectomy ◽  
Severe Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Barthel Index ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Clinical Results ◽  
Long Term Results

Object A decompressive craniectomy can be a life-saving procedure to relieve critically increased intracranial pressure. The survival of a patient is important as well as the subsequent and long-term quality of life. In this paper the authors' goal was to investigate whether long-term clinical results justify the use of a decompressive craniectomy. Methods Thirty-three patients (20 males and 13 females) with a mean age of 36.3 years (range 13–60 years) with severe traumatic brain injury (Grades III and IV) and subsequent massive brain swelling were examined. For postoperative assessment the Barthel Index was used. A surgical intervention was based on the following criteria: 1) The intracranial pressure could not be controlled by conservative treatment and constantly exceeded 30 mm Hg (cerebral perfusion pressure < 50 mm Hg). 2) Transcranial Doppler ultrasonography revealed only a systolic flow pattern or systolic peaks. 3) There were no other major injuries. 4) The patient was not older than 60 years. Results One-fifth of all patients died and one-fifth remained in a vegetative state. Mild deficits were seen in 6 of 33 patients. A full rehabilitation (Barthel Index 90–100) was achieved in 13 patients (39.4%). Five patients could resume their former occupation, and another 4 had to change jobs. Conclusions Age remains to be one of the most important exclusion factors. Decompressive craniectomy provided good clinical results in nearly 40% of patients who were otherwise most likely to die. Therefore, long-term results justify the use of decompressive craniectomy in this case series.

scholarly journals A Single Case Narrative of Spirituality Following Aphasia from Traumatic Brain Injury: Findings about Forgiveness and Freedom Using WELLHEAD and SHALOM

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharyn Mumby
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Patient Reported Outcome Measures ◽  
Patient Reported Outcome ◽  
Spiritual Health ◽  
Patient Reported

Rehabilitation has neglected the spirituality of people with aphasia, a neurogenic impairment of language for communication and thought processes. Aphasia reduces scope for adjustment processes where words are normal currency, such as forgiveness and reconciliation. A single case narrative was generated from a case series exploring the feasibility of spiritual health assessment in aphasia. The individual had traumatic brain injury, with the primary symptom of aphasia, giving the first detailed account of its kind. The WELLHEAD spirituality toolkit provided a structured interview approach, exploring spirituality in terms of ‘meaning and purpose’ within four dimensions, WIDE, LONG, HIGH and DEEP, incorporating patient-reported outcome measures and goal-setting, with feedback interviews. Spiritual Health and Life Orientation Measure (SHALOM) generated a comparator spiritual health assessment. The quantitative feedback measures and self-reported outcomes were complemented by detailed qualitative interview transcripts subject to systematic thematic analysis in NVivo. The findings were co-constructed and systematically verified. This non-religious narrative evidenced the accessibility, acceptability, and impact of the resources. Self-forgiveness was paramount for freedom to journey into the unknown beyond self with ‘Calm’, towards helping others and accepting help. Religion, Faith and Belief were reconceptualised. Forgiveness of self and others was integral and instrumental in recovery, offering avenues for further investigation and application.

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