Journal of Pediatric Psychology Advance Access originally published online on February 23, 2008
Journal of Pediatric Psychology 2008 33(7):707-718; doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsn006
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This article appears in the following Journal of Pediatric Psychology issue: Series on Methodology Article [View the issue table of contents]
Outcome and Predictors of Functional Recovery 5 Years Following Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
1Australian Centre for Child Neuropsychology Studies, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, 2Royal Children's Hospital, 3University of Melbourne, 4Alfred Hospital, and 5Monash University
All correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Cathy Catroppa, Department of Psychology, Royal Children's Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville. Victoria. 3052, Australia. E-mail: cathy.catroppa{at}mcri.edu.au; catroppc{at}tpg.com.au
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Objectives The aim was to examine functional outcomes following traumatic brain injury (TBI) during early childhood, to investigate impairments up to 5 years postinjury and identify predictors of outcome. Methods The study compared three groups of children (mild = 11, moderate = 22, severe = 15), aged 2.0–6.11 years at injury, to a healthy control group (n = 17). Using a prospective, longitudinal design, adaptive abilities, behavior, and family functioning were investigated acutely, 6, 30 months and 5 years postinjury, with educational progress investigated at 30 months and 5 years postinjury. Results A strong association was suggested between injury severity and outcomes across all domains. Further, 5-year outcomes in adaptive and behavioral domains were best predicted by preinjury levels of child function, and educational performance by injury severity. Conclusion Children who sustain a severe TBI in early childhood are at greatest risk of long-term impairment in day-to-day skills in the long-term postinjury.
Key words: behavior; children; functional outcome; traumatic brain injury.
Received April 15, 2007; revision received January 13, 2008; accepted January 15, 2008