Chronic pain after traumatic brain injury: a collaborative care approach.
Mary C Curran, Sylvia Lucas, Jesse R Fann and 2 others
PMID 39253025WHAT IT FOUND
Participants with traumatic brain injury and chronic pain reported lower pain interference and intensity after a 12-session collaborative care program.
High engagement and satisfaction were noted, but without a control group, this feasibility report cannot prove the program caused the improvement.
Key findings
01Participants self-reported a decrease in pain interference in activity and enjoyment of life, and a decrease in pain intensity over the course of treatment.
02Ninety percent of participants attended 11 or 12 of the 12 scheduled sessions, indicating high engagement with the collaborative care model.
03Providers reported satisfaction with the intervention, noting improved patient access to care and that their own time spent with patients lessened.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
This is a single-arm descriptive report from an RCT, not the trial results themselves. Without a control group, it is impossible to know if the improvements were due to the intervention, natural fluctuation, or placebo effects. The study population was limited to English-speaking adults at outpatient rehabilitation clinics who were willing to seek help, which may not represent the broader TBI population. Medication adherence and changes were not tracked over time, so the impact of pharmacological adjustments is unclear. Self-reported measures were used, which may be subject to bias, especially in participants with cognitive challenges.
Declared interests
The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR). The funder had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, or manuscript preparation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the reported decreases in pain and mood symptoms as proof that TBI Care is effective. This paper describes what happened to participants who received the treatment but does not compare them to those who did not, so the improvements could be due to other factors.