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Affiliation
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Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Sciences, , Division of Rehabilitation Medicine, Danderyd Hospital, 182 88 Stockholm, Sweden. gabriela.markovic@ds.se, gabriela.markovic@sll.se. |
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Abstract
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BACKGROUND: Progress in early cognitive recovery after acquired brain injury is uneven and unpredictable, and thus the evaluation of rehabilitation is complex. The use of time-series measurements is susceptible to statistical change due to process variation.
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of using a time-series method, statistical process control, in early cognitive rehabilitation.
METHOD: Participants were 27 patients with acquired brain injury undergoing interdisciplinary rehabilitation of attention within 4 months post-injury. The outcome measure, the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, was analysed using statistical process control.
RESULTS: Statistical process control identifies if and when change occurs in the process according to 3 patterns: rapid, steady or stationary performers. The statistical process control method was adjusted, in terms of constructing the baseline and the total number of measurement points, in order to measure a process in change.
CONCLUSION: Statistical process control methodology is feasible for use in early cognitive rehabilitation, since it provides information about change in a process, thus enabling adjustment of the individual treatment response. Together with the results indicating discernible subgroups that respond differently to rehabilitation, statistical process control could be a valid tool in clinical decision-making. This study is a starting-point in understanding the rehabilitation process using a real-time-measurements approach.
Language: en |