Referrals to Early Specialized Rehabilitation after Traumatic Brain Injury during the Covid-19 Pandemic.
Cathrine Tverdal, Cathrine Brunborg, Eirik Helseth and 5 others
PMID 36083786WHAT IT FOUND
Referral to early specialized rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury remained stable during the pandemic.
Direct transfers were predicted by younger age, better pre-injury health and severe disability, not by the pandemic status.
Key findings
01The proportion of patients discharged directly to specialized rehabilitation was similar before and during the pandemic.
02Younger age, good pre-injury health and severe disability at discharge were strong predictors of transfer to specialized rehabilitation in both periods.
03There was no notable reduction in the number of TBI referrals during the pandemic.
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
This was a single-centre study in Norway, a high-income country with a well-organized healthcare system, so results may not apply to other regions. The data came from a registry and lacked detailed information on comorbidities, the length or intensity of rehabilitation received, and long-term functional outcomes. The study did not include patients younger than 18 years of age. It is unclear if the higher proportion of patients with severe pre-injury comorbidities in the pandemic group influenced the results, as the study did not explain this trend.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the lack of change in referral rates means that the quality or intensity of rehabilitation was unaffected. The study only looked at whether patients were transferred to specialized rehab, not how much therapy they received or what their long-term outcomes were.