Neuropsychological Outcome and Social Recovery of Head-injured Patients

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and Yatabe-Guilford personality test were administered to 123 patients hospitalized for head injury who had made a relatively good recovery. Intelligence quotient (IQ) was correlated with clinical condition based on the Glasgow Coma Scale and duration of coma. More severely injured patients tended to show a greater decline in IQ. The type of lesion, as described by computed tomography, was also an important factor in predicting the outcome of intellectual function. The mean IQ of patients with diffuse injury, such as diffuse axonal injury and diffuse brain swelling, and intracerebral hematoma, was significantly lower than that of the control subjects, especially performance IQ (PIQ). Several patients demonstrated improved IQ level during the initial year. In particular, PIQ improved more than verbal IQ. The difference between the IQ of patients achieving social recovery and not was significant (p < 0.001). Causes of difficulty in returning to previous work were decreased IQ and personality change, such as lack of cooperativeness. Neuropsychological evaluation is important in predicting social recovery and selecting necessary neuropsychological rehabilitation.