Identifying clinical complexity in patients affected by severe acquired brain injury in neurorehabilitation: a cross sectional survey

The Impact of Medical Complications in Predicting the Rehabilitation Outcome of Patients With Disorders of Consciousness After Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

“…In the clinical management of TBI patients, the most frequent MCs are cardiorespiratory, pressure sores, gastrointestinal, infections, or the presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria (Whyte et al, 2013;Riganello et al, 2016;Scarponi et al, 2019). Generally, in TBI patients, the presence of more than three MCs during the inpatient rehabilitation is significantly associated with poorer clinical outcomes (Ganesh et al, 2013).…”

“…Rehabilitation of DOC patients after severe TBI in the early weeks after injury is critical and constitutes a significant multidisciplinary challenge constantly evolving. Here, we provide useful information about the predictive factors of functional outcomes to guide clinicians' therapeutical intervention and prevention efforts (Scarponi et al, 2019). Our statistical approach stresses the role of MCs as the predictor of poor clinical outcome.…”

Healthcare-Associated Infections in Subjects With Severe Acquired Brain Injury: The Effect of Microbial Colonization on the Functional Outcome. Data From a Multicenter Observational Study

“…Although HAIs and microbial colonization are the most relevant public health problems particularly in the ICU setting, this phenomenon is progressively extending to the neurorehabilitation setting and may represent a troublesome complication in sABI patients (21). Some information on the role and effect of colonization on the rehabilitation process and the outcome of these patients is available.…”

“…Patients admitted to neurorehabilitation units, particularly those suffering from severe acquired brain injury (sABI), are more at risk of developing infections and microbial colonization. The main causes are the higher intensity of care and the presence of predisposing factors including greater age, multiple comorbidities, poor functional status, previously repeated and/or prolonged courses of antibiotic exposure, prolonged stay and/or frequent readmission to acute care facilities, and use of invasive medical devices or mechanical ventilation (18)(19)(20)(21). Moreover, the brain injury-induced immunosuppression syndrome, which manifests as a consequence of dysregulation of the brainimmune interactions, may facilitate infections and colonization (22)(23)(24).…”

Translation and Transcultural Adaptation of the Wessex Head Injury Matrix, Italian Version: A Preliminary Report

“…Assessment of patients with disorders of consciousness (coma, unresponsive wakefulness syndrome and minimally conscious state) is challenging due to the complexity of managing patients who survive a severe acquired brain injury. Patients are heterogeneous in relation to age, etiology, brain injury extension and dissemination, and comorbidities [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Moreover, especially in the early phases, they may exhibit a fluctuating behavioral repertoire that makes it difficult to obtain reliable and reproducible assessment results [ 4 ].…”