Rehospitalization in the First Year Following Veteran and Service Member TBI: A VA TBI Model Systems Study.
Johanna Tran, Flora Hammond, Kristen Dams-OʼConnor and 4 others
PMID 28195958WHAT IT FOUND
Veterans and Service Members after inpatient TBI rehabilitation were readmitted often: 164 of 401 had at least one hospitalization within a year, and inpatient rehabilitation was the leading reason.
Longer post-traumatic amnesia and delayed command following were associated with rehospitalization.
Key findings
01Among 401 participants analysed, 164 (41%) had at least one rehospitalization at one-year follow-up.
02Inpatient rehabilitation was the leading reason for rehospitalization, and 42 of 85 rehabilitation readmissions were for the Polytrauma Transitional Rehabilitation Program.
03Participants with at least one rehospitalization had longer post-traumatic amnesia duration and longer time to follow commands than those without (28 days vs 19 days; 9 days vs 2 days).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The analysis was limited to Veterans and Service Members treated at VA Polytrauma Rehabilitation Centers, so it may not apply to other healthcare systems or to people with TBI who did not receive this rehabilitation. Rehospitalization was based on participant or family interview responses, not medical records, and the study did not determine whether admissions were planned or medically necessary. Of 496 eligible participants, 51 did not complete the one-year follow-up and 44 lacked the rehospitalization outcome, leaving 401 for analysis. Some participants had mild TBI and sought care months or years after injury, so the one-year follow-up may not capture all injury courses. Hospitalization counts were capped at 5 for the analysis.
Declared interests
The author declares no conflicts of interest. The article is listed as supported by U.S. government and NIH extramural research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that longer rehabilitation stay, deployment, or active duty status caused rehospitalization. The study was observational, used self-reported hospitalizations, and did not determine whether readmissions were planned or medically necessary.