Comparison of rehabilitation outcome in patients with aphasic and non-aphasic traumatic brain injury.

Abstract

To compare the functional, cognitive and disability status of aphasic and non-aphasic traumatic brain injury patients. A prospective comparative study in which 103 patients with traumatic brain injury participated. Fifty-one aphasic and 52 non-aphasic patients with traumatic brain injury. Functional Independence Measure and Disability Rating Scale were used to determine functional status and disability. Cognitive status was evaluated by the Mini-Mental Status Examination. Aphasic patients were evaluated using the Gülhane Aphasia Test for language disorders. The most frequent type of aphasia was Broca aphasia at 26.49% followed by anomic at 19.6% and trans-cortical motor at 15.6%. Functional Independence Measure, Disability Rating Scale and Mini-Mental Status Examination scores at admission and at discharge showed significant differences in aphasic patients (p<0.001). There were no significant differences in the Functional Independence Measure, Disability Rating Scale and Mini-Mental Status Examination gains between the aphasic and non-aphasic patients (p>0.01). Although aphasia could be accepted as a negative prognostic indicator in patients with traumatic brain injury, we could not detect any difference in functional and cognitive gains between the aphasic and non-aphasic patients.