Functional outcomes following anoxic brain injury: a comparison with traumatic brain injury

Primary objective: To compare the functional outcomes of patients with anoxic brain injury (ABI) and patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) following inpatient rehabilitation. Research design: Retrospective chart review. Methods and procedures: Data on 68 patients with brain injury (34 with ABI and 34 with TBI) were collected. Main outcomes and results: The ABI and TBI groups were demographically similar, except that patients with ABI were more likely to be married. Both groups significantly improved their function and were similar upon discharge. For the ABI group, there were trends toward a shorter length of stay, increased total FIM efficiency and decreased cost of stay when compared with the TBI group. The patients with ABI tended to be discharged to a sub-acute rehabilitation facility more than those in the TBI group. Conclusions: This study is important because it shows that patients with ABI benefit from inpatient rehabilitation and made significant functional gains comparable to the gains of patients with TBI.