Effect of Early Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation for Trauma Patients: A Systematic Review.

Only 4 studies were included, and all were about traumatic brain injury, not other trauma injuries. The studies were small, and the review judged the evidence for primary and secondary outcomes to be low. Only 1 of the 4 studies was randomized, and all studies had at least 1 high risk of bias. Few studies reported the primary outcomes, and outcome measures varied across studies. Control groups often received rehabilitation as well, so the difference was mainly timing and team coordination rather than rehabilitation versus no rehabilitation. The interventions included several therapies and team processes, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. No study reported harm or serious adverse events. The review's definition of early as within 1 week may have excluded studies with prolonged intensive care stays. The paper reports conflicting information for Mackay total length of stay: the text says the difference did not reach statistical significance, while the summary table lists P = .028.

Do not conclude that early interdisciplinary rehabilitation is proven effective for trauma patients. The review included only 4 studies, all in people with traumatic brain injury, and the evidence quality was low. The interventions were team-based packages, so a single therapy component cannot be credited.