Interventions for Posttraumatic Brain Injury Fatigue: An Updated Review

Purpose of Review To provide an updated review of empirical evidence in support of interventions for posttraumatic fatigue. Recent Findings A total of 360 articles were published between January 22, 2014 and September 23, 2016 with nine meeting inclusion criteria. Articles included in this review provided further support for behavioral, pharmacological, and physical activity interventions for fatigue. Behavioral interventions remain popular, but studies directly targeting fatigue have not yet been undertaken. Pharmacological agents, particularly those using dopaminergic agents, showed potential but had mixed results. Interventions incorporating physical activity were promising but require more rigorous investigation. Summary Despite promising results, there remains a need to replicate and further refine treatments using rigorous research designs and larger samples. Future studies should continue to more clearly define fatigue and use consistent subjective and objective endpoints that better capture this construct. Including imaging techniques would establish the effectiveness and mechanisms of interventions.