Predictors of acute child and family outcome following traumatic brain injury in children

Abstract

Objective: To examine the relative contributions of injury severity, level of physical and cognitive disability, child behavior and family function to short-term outcome 6 months following traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children. Design: Prospective, longitudinal, between-group design, comparing preinjury and postinjury measures of functional outcome across three levels of injury severity. Subjects: One hundred and twelve children, aged 2-12 years admitted to the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, with a diagnosis of TBI. The sample was divided into three groups, according to injury severity: mild TBI (n = 31), moderate TBI (n = 52) and severe TBI (n = 29). Children with a history of neu..