• John Whyte, Risa Nakase-Richardson, Flora M Hammond, Shane McNamee, Joseph T Giacino, Kathleen Kalmar, Brian D Greenwald, Stuart A Yablon, and Lawrence J Horn.
• Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, Elkins Park, PA. Electronic address: jwhyte@einstein.edu.
• Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2013 Oct 1;94(10):1855-60.

ObjectiveTo characterize the 5-year outcomes of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) not following commands when admitted to acute inpatient rehabilitation.DesignSecondary analysis of prospectively collected data from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research-funded Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems (TBIMS).SettingInpatient rehabilitation hospitals participating in the TBIMS program.ParticipantsPatients (N=108) with TBI not following commands at admission to acute inpatient rehabilitation were divided into 2 groups (early recovery: followed commands before discharge [n=72]; late recovery: did not follow commands before discharge [n=36]).InterventionsNot applicable.Main Outcome MeasuresFIM items.ResultsFor the early recovery group, depending on the FIM item, 8% to 21% of patients were functioning independently at discharge, increasing to 56% to 85% by 5 years postinjury. The proportion functioning independently increased from discharge to 1 year, 1 to 2 years, and 2 to 5 years. In the late recovery group, depending on the FIM item, 19% to 36% of patients were functioning independently by 5 years postinjury. The proportion of independent patients increased significantly from discharge to 1 year and from 1 to 2 years, but not from 2 to 5 years.ConclusionsSubstantial proportions of patients admitted to acute inpatient rehabilitation before following commands recover independent functioning over as long as 5 years, particularly if they begin to follow commands before hospital discharge.Copyright © 2013 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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