BMJ 1994;309:129 (9 July)

Letters

Rehabilitation needs after severe head injury

EDITOR,--Though I agree that the cognitive, behavioural, and emotional disturbances that may occur after severe head injury are the predominant factors responsible for longer term handicap, I dispute R J Greenwood and colleagues' statement that physical deficits "usually recover rapidly and completely."1 For several weeks or months after severe injury the physical sequelae account for a considerable proportion of the skilled physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy provided to facilitate maximal potential recovery and prevent the physical and psychological complications that are likely to result from the lack of such input.

The facts that the median length of initial hospital stay was 25 days for the controls and 35 days for the case managed patients; that 44 of the 117 cases and controls who entered the study were inpatients in a rehabilitation unit for three or four months; and that most had many hours of physiotherapy as inpatients . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Effects of case management after severe head injury
R J Greenwood, T M McMillan, D N Brooks, G Dunn, D Brock, S Dinsdale, L D Murphy, and J R Price
BMJ 1994 308: 1199-1205. [Abstract] [Full Text]

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