The Effect of Early Rehabilitation Intervention on Functional Outcome in Patients with Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review Protocol

Introduction: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a serious health problem which is considered as a silent epidemic. Early rehabilitation interventions are among significant factors affecting the functional improvement, reduction of disability and impairment in patients. Initial observations indicate evidence for the effectiveness of such interventions; however, there is no related systematic review study conducted so far. The main objective of the present study is to investigate the prevalence of the interventions and to determine the effectiveness of such interventions on functional outcomes for patients with TBI. Methodology: In order to find related studies, several data bases such as Embase, Medline, Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science and also Gray Literature are observed. Inclusion and exclusion criteria are designed and modified by a team of experts. Observation of the content of the titles and abstracts will be done by two reviewers and then the data will be extracted and evaluated. All the studies published in English between 1990 and 2019 were included. Primary outcomes include the frequency of early rehabilitation interventions and the effects of such interventions on functional outcomes. If possible, meta-analysis will be conducted as well. Discussion: The results of this systematic review study will contribute to identification and clarification of different types of rehabilitation interventions and the effects of such interventions on TBI patients’ functional outcomes.