Significance of early and repeated rehabilitation following a traumatic brain injury: a case report
| Author | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Date |
|---|
2021-05-12 |
Session of Neurology and Neurosurgery
ISBN 978-83-950834-4-0
Background: Traumatic brain injury is a complication of motor vehicle accidents that causes physical, cognitive and social issues. Coordinated efforts of the rehabilitation team are especially significant to achieve maximum functional activity of the patient. Case description: We present a female patient who experienced a severe traumatic brain injury in a car accident. Early rehabilitation was started right away, the main method being physical therapy. The patient was experiencing feelings of anger and hopelessness towards her situation. A month after the accident the patient‘s Barthel index was 5 points. Three months later, the score has increased to 20 points and continued to increase to 40 points over the following month. By the end of this phase, the patient was able to eat served food and walk with the help of a walker or other people. Significant changes in the patient's independence and autonomy were observed over 5 years when the patient was attending repeated rehabilitation. The patient‘s emotional state has significantly improved: anger and resentment were much less common. Due to applied repeated rehabilitation episodes over the period of 5 years, the Barthel index has increased from 40 to 100 points, indicating complete independence of the patient. The most adverse factors influencing the life of the subject were general health disorders and reduced circle of friends, which lead to psychological stress. Marriage and birth of a child, support from loved ones, positive thinking, enjoyable activities motivated the subject to follow through with rehabilitation treatment and improve her state of autonomy. Conclusions: During five years of rehabilitation after a motor vehicle accident, major changes were observed in our patient‘s autonomy and independence. This case report outlines the significance of both early rehabilitation in the acute phase and repeated rehabilitation in the later phase of a [...].