Last modified: 2018-09-09
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The level of consciousness recovery in patients who have suffered severe brain injury and who present disorders of consciousness is poor. Even when it is not clear to state which factors are associated with better outcomes, there are variables such as etiology, the age of the injury or the time course before entering a rehabilitation programme that can be considered.
OBJECTIVE: To compare the development of consciousness compromise among children who suffered traumatic acquired severe brain injury versus non traumatic acquired brain injury.
MATERIAL AND METOD: Retrospective descriptive study of clinical records revision of patients who entered rehabilitation programme with consciousness compromise, secondary to severe brain injury from 2005 to 2017.
OUTCOMES: 83 patients were admitted: 41% female, age range 1 year-18 years old. 36% traumatic cause (group 1), 64% non- traumatic (group 2).
Consciousness recovery of traumatic injuries group (60%) was higher than in the non-traumatic injury group (35%). Within group 2, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy was associated with poorer results and encephalitis with better recovery.
The correlation between the consciousness recovery and the minor admission time to rehabilitation (p<0,003) was significant.
There was no significant recovery difference between the various age groups among the traumatic injury patients and non-traumatic.
CONCLUSION: We confirm in our series that non traumatic etiology and younger age at the time of injury were associated with poor consciousness recovery, coincidentally with the literature. Early admission to a rehabilitation plan is associated with better prognosis.