Articles: brain-injuries.
-
For patients who may lack capacity, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 requires capacity to be assessed for each decision at the time that treatment is offered, but this is not practical for every element of basic care and intervention delivered to patients undergoing rehabilitation following acquired brain injury, especially if their needs are changing. In this quality improvement project, we introduced a system for screening Mental Capacity and documentation to identify patients with a) largely intact cognition for whom capacity may be reasonably be presumed, and b) those in prolonged disorders of consciousness who clearly lacked capacity for all decisions. ⋯ Two rounds of audit demonstrated that implementation improved the consistency of assessment and documentation. Multicentre roll-out of this approach is now required.
-
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of physical disabilities worldwide. Herein, we aimed to investigate the factors contributing to post-discharge recovery in patients who were discharged with an unfavorable outcome. ⋯ This study found that the majority of patients discharged with an unfavorable functional status were able to achieve a favorable outcome within 6 months. The novel post-discharge recovery in TBI patients might be a useful tool for illuminating the factors associated with a significant improvement after discharge.