Outcomes of family-centred auditory and tactile stimulation implementation on traumatic brain injured patients.
Fatma Refaat Ahmed, Amal Kadry Attia, Hamada Mansour and 1 others
PMID 36303273WHAT IT FOUND
Family-delivered daily auditory and tactile stimulation for 14 days raised Glasgow Coma Scale scores and improved vital signs and blood sugar in 30 TBI ICU patients versus 30 controls.
Key findings
01By day 14, mean Glasgow Coma Scale improvement was significantly higher in the family-stimulation group than controls.
02At the last study day, 66.6% and 26.7% of control patients had average and good recovery, respectively, compared with 30% and 70% in the stimulation group.
03Mean ICU length of stay was 19.77 days in the stimulation group and 26.37 days in controls.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The authors describe a quasi-experimental design with a convenience sample and small sample size. The limitations section says data came from four ICUs of a single hospital, while the methods describe five ICUs of two university hospitals; this inconsistency limits generalizability. The control group still received routine family contact, so the study does not separate the effects of family presence from the structured stimulation protocol.
Declared interests
The authors declared no competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that auditory or tactile stimulation alone caused improvement. The family-delivered program combined auditory stimulation, tactile stimulation, daily family contact, and routine ICU care, and the study cannot separate those components.