Occupational performance one to five years after aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage: a cohort study.
Marcus Kessner, Jan Mehrholz, Svein Harald Mørkve and 1 others
PMID 38506427WHAT IT FOUND
Most patients rated as having a good recovery after a brain haemorrhage still reported difficulty with daily activities one to five years later.
These problems persisted regardless of initial severity scores, affecting leisure and work most heavily.
Key findings
01Patients rated as having a favourable outcome at hospital discharge still reported significant occupational performance problems years later.
02Leisure activities were the most common area of difficulty, followed by productivity, with self-care being the least affected.
03Standard clinical severity scores like the mRS did not predict which patients would report these long-term performance problems.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study relied entirely on self-reported data, which can be influenced by recall bias and individual personality traits. The sample size was small (62 participants), limiting the statistical power to detect subtle associations. The study excluded patients with severe language problems or those who did not speak Norwegian, so results may not apply to more severely impaired or non-Norwegian speaking populations. No correction was made for multiple statistical tests, which increases the risk of finding false positive associations.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. Open access funding was provided by the publication fund of TU Dresden.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a patient with a high Glasgow Outcome Scale or low modified Rankin Scale score at discharge has fully recovered. This study found that clinical severity scores did not predict long-term occupational problems, and many patients with 'good' medical outcomes still reported significant difficulties with daily activities and satisfaction years later.