Rehabilitation of Traumatic Brain Injury in Active Duty Military Personnel and Veterans: Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center Randomized Controlled Trial of Two Rehabilitation Approaches

Vanderploeg RD, Schwab K, Walker WC, Fraser JA, Sigford BJ, Date ES, Scott SG, Curtiss G, Salazar AM, Warden DL, for the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center Study Group. Rehabilitation of traumatic brain injury in active duty military personnel and veterans: Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center randomized controlled trial of two rehabilitation approaches.

Objectives

To determine the relative efficacy of 2 different acute traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation approaches: cognitive didactic versus functional-experiential, and secondarily to determine relative efficacy for different patient subpopulations.

Design

Randomized, controlled, intent-to-treat trial comparing 2 alternative TBI treatment approaches.

Setting

Four Veterans Administration acute inpatient TBI rehabilitation programs.

Participants

Adult veterans or active duty military service members (N=360) with moderate to severe TBI.

Interventions

One and a half to 2.5 hours of protocol-specific cognitive-didactic versus functional-experiential rehabilitation therapy integrated into interdisciplinary acute Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities–accredited inpatient TBI rehabilitation programs with another 2 to 2.5 hours daily of occupational and physical therapy. Duration of protocol treatment varied from 20 to 60 days depending on the clinical needs and progress of each participant.

Main Outcome Measures

The 2 primary outcome measures were functional independence in living and return to work and/or school assessed by independent evaluators at 1-year follow-up. Secondary outcome measures consisted of the FIM, Disability Rating Scale score, and items from the Present State Exam, Apathy Evaluation Scale, and Neurobehavioral Rating Scale.

Results

The cognitive-didactic and functional-experiential treatments did not result in overall group differences in the broad 1-year primary outcomes. However, analysis of secondary outcomes found differentially better immediate posttreatment cognitive function (mean ± SD cognitive FIM) in participants randomized to cognitive-didactic treatment (27.3±6.2) than to functional treatment (25.6±6.0, t₃₃₂=2.56, P=.01). Exploratory subgroup analyses found that younger participants in the cognitive arm had a higher rate of returning to work or school than younger patients in the functional arm, whereas participants older than 30 years and those with more years of education in the functional arm had higher rates of independent living status at 1 year posttreatment than similar patients in the cognitive arm.

Conclusions

Results from this large multicenter randomized controlled trial comparing cognitive-didactic and functional-experiential approaches to brain injury rehabilitation indicated improved but similar long-term global functional outcome. Participants in the cognitive treatment arm achieved better short-term functional cognitive performance than patients in the functional treatment arm. The current increase in war-related brain injuries provides added urgency for rigorous study of rehabilitation treatments. (http://ClinicalTrials.gov ID# NCT00540020.)     

An evaluation of awareness: attitudes and beliefs of pregnant Nigerian women toward voluntary counseling and testing for HIV

The rate of HIV seroprevalence in Nigeria is troublesome because it is one of the highest prevalence rates worldwide. As in most developing countries, vertical transmission from mother to child accounts for most of the HIV infections in Nigerian children. The purpose of this study was to determine the awareness, attitudes, and beliefs of pregnant Nigerian women toward voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV. Two hundred forty pregnant women in Awka, Nigeria, completed questionnaires aimed at determining their willingness to accept or reject VCT. Furthermore, participants where questioned about their knowledge of HIV infection, routes of transmission, and treatment options. The majority of the women (87%) approved of VCT; of those who approved, 93% were aware that VCT could reduce the risk of transmission of HIV to their babies. All respondents who accepted VCT were willing to be tested if results remained confidential and 89% would accept if they were tested simultaneously with their partners. 69% of the women who refused VCT attribute their refusal to the social and cultural stigmatization associated with HIV. Overall, the acceptance of VCT appears to depend on the understanding that VCT has proven benefits for the unborn child. Sociocultural factors such as stigmatization of HIV-infected individuals appears to be the major barrier toward widespread acceptance of VCT in Nigeria, thus the development of innovative health education strategies is essential for providing women with information regarding the benefits of VCT and other means of prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT).     

Hypertension, athletes, and the sports physician: Implications of JNC VII, the Fourth Report, and the 36th Bethesda Conference guidelines

Over the past decade, numerous studies have contributed to a growing evidence-based recommendation that the prevention, diagnosis, and management of hypertension can significantly lower cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Several leading guidelines have been updated recently. Because hypertension is a common cardiovascular disease in athletes, sports medicine providers must remain vigilant in diagnosing this disorder and current with treatment and participation recommendations.     

High Self-Reported Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus, Heart Disease, and Stroke in 11 Counties of Rural Appalachian Ohio

ABSTRACT:  Context/Purpose: There is an epidemic of obesity and diabetes in the United States, especially in economically at-risk populations such as rural Appalachia. This survey determined the self-reported prevalence of obesity, diabetes mellitus, and associated macrovascular complications in 11 rural counties of Appalachian Ohio. The impacts of lifestyle, cardiovascular risk factors, income, and access to medical care were also determined. Methods: A telephone survey identical to the 2004 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey was conducted. Surveys were collected from 3,927 randomly selected residents 18 years of age and older in 11 counties of Appalachian Ohio and compared to published aggregate Ohio and national 2004 BRFSS data. Findings: The self-reported prevalence of diabetes (11.3%) was markedly higher in Appalachian Ohio counties surveyed compared to aggregate Ohio (7.8%) or national (7.2%) 2004 BRFSS data (P < .044). The prevalence of heart disease (7.6%) and stroke (4.1%) in these counties was slightly higher than aggregate Ohio or national 2004 BRFSS data. In persons with diabetes, the prevalence of heart disease was 2-fold higher (20.0%) and stroke 3-fold higher (11.4%) than among nondiabetics (P < .042) in the region and higher than aggregate Ohio and National 2004 BRFSS data. Lower-income levels and decreased access to medications and glucose monitoring supplies correlated with the increased risk for cardiovascular complications in this rural population (P < .042). Conclusion: The self-reported prevalence of diabetes mellitus and its associated macrovascular complications are much higher in rural Appalachian Ohio compared to aggregate Ohio and National 2004 BRFSS data.     

Granulocyte colony stimulating factor in neonatal alloimmune neutropenia: A possible association with induced thrombocytopenia

Neonatal alloimmune neutropenia (NAIN) is a rare cause of congenital neutropenia seen in <1% of births. Significant morbidity, usually infections, may result from this disease. The pathophysiology of NAIN, mediated by maternal antibodies crossing the placenta to destroy fetal cells expressing paternal antigens, is similar to that of neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia, as well as Rh/ABO hemolytic disease of the newborn. The use of high‐dose granulocyte colony stimulating factor in patients with NAIN may cause a reversible thrombocytopenia in some patients. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2010;54:1014–1016 © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Pediatric post-traumatic headache

Post-traumatic headache after craniocerebral trauma is not an uncommon occurrence in children and adolescents. It can occur after mild, moderate, or severe injury. The headache may have features of tension-type headache, migraine, or probable migraine and is rarely seen in isolation. It is often part of a syndrome encompassing a variety of somatic and psychobehavioral symptoms. In time, the headache and accompanying symptoms gradually resolve over a period of 8 to 12 weeks. However, sometimes it may become chronic, requiring a multidimensional management approach including pharmacologic intervention, physical rehabilitation, and cognitive-behavioral therapy as used in the adult population.     

Anatomical Factors Triggering Platypnea‐Orthodeoxia in Adults

Right to left shunting through a patent foramen ovale (PFO) or atrial septal defect (ASD) can cause platypnea‐orthodeoxia even in a setting of normal pulmonary artery pressures. However, the late onset of symptoms despite the congenital origin of the anatomical defects is not well understood. We report a case series of patients presenting with dyspnea and orthodeoxia who developed right to left shunting as a result of associated anatomical changes that occur with aging such as tortuosity and elongation of the aorta. We propose that these acquired anatomical changes can favor right to left shunting in the setting of congenital abnormalities, therefore explaining the late onset of symptoms. Copyright © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.