Citation

Zonfrillo MR, Dennis DR, Koepsell T, Wang J, Temkin NR, Dorsch A, Vavilala MS, Jaffe KM, Rivara FP. J. Neurotrauma 2014; 31(8): 722-727.

Affiliation

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Center for Injury Research and Prevention, and Division of Emergency Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States ; zonfrillo@email.chop.edu.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Mary Ann Liebert Publishers)

DOI

10.1089/neu.2013.3088

PMID

24294826

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of poor 3- and 12-month quality of life outcomes in a cohort of pediatric patients with isolated mild TBI. We conducted a prospective cohort study of children <18 years treated for an isolated mild TBI, defined as no radiographically apparent intracranial injury or an isolated skull fracture, and no other clinically significant non-head injuries. The main outcome measure was the change in quality of life from baseline at 3 and 12 months following injury, as measured by the Pediatric Quality of Life index (PedsQL). Poor functioning was defined as a decrease in total PedsQL score of more than 15 points between baseline and follow-up scores (at 3 and 12 months). Of the 329 patients who met inclusion criteria, 11.3% (95% CI 8.3%-15.3%) at 3 months and 12.9% (95% CI 9.6%-17.2%) at 12 months following injury had relatively poor functioning. Significant predictors of poor functioning included less parental education, Hispanic ethnicity (at 3 months following injury, but not 12 months); low household income (at 3 and 12 months), and Medicaid insurance (at 12 months only). Children sustaining a mild TBI who are socioeconomically disadvantaged may require additional intervention to mitigate the effects of mild TBI on their functioning.

Language: en