Traumatic brain injury and its implications on cognition and quality of life

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury is one of the main causes of mortality in children or young adults. Patients with moderate or severe TBI can present motor, cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social functionality sequelae, causing an adverse impact on the individual, his family, and on society. Objective: To investigate the impact that severe traumatic brain injury caused to the life of patients who suffered the injury during childhood and youth, considering cognitive, emotional, and quality of life questions, as well as, to verify whether there are differences with respect to age at the time of injury. Method: A quantitative, qualitative, cross-sectional study carried out at the Ibirapuera unit of the Rehabilitation Center of the Association for Assistance to Disabled Children (AACD). Thirteen patients with severe traumatic brain injury from São Paulo state, participated in the study between January of 2010 and March of 2014. The instruments utilized were: a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), the Raven’s Progressive Matrices, and the Pfister Colored Pyramid Test. The data collected were evaluated in the overall sample and then divided into two groups based on their age at the time of injury, with group 1 (3 to 7 years and eleven months old) and group 2 (8 to 16 years and eleven months old). Results: On the Raven’s test, 76.9% of the participants showed signs of mental impairment. All participants had a good quality of life assessment. In the emotional aspects, there was good adaptability and interaction. Upon comparison, there was no difference between groups. Conclusion: The results were consistent with studies that indicate cognitive impairment and good perception of quality of life