Observed Recovery Sequence in Neurobehavioral Function After Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

WNSSP item performance suggested a sequence of recovery; clinicians may consider a revised item order that reflects this observed order.

Validating the Western Neuro Sensory Stimulation Profile for patients with severe traumatic brain injury who are slow-to-recover

“…Therapy referral and discharge destination were therefore reported as demographical data but discarded from inferential analysis. An earlier study examining the sequence of recovery (Lannin et al ., ) was conducted using the same dataset, with demographical, clinical and outcome data including total and subscale WNSSP scores reported. The present study used a slightly different sample from the dataset because only admission and discharge scores on the WNSSP were required for inclusion; for this reason results may differ from the Lannin et al .…”

“…'s () appraisal which included the full spectrum of DOC severity, the WNSSP has been criticised as not being sensitive enough to detect change in very low functioning neurological patients (Pape, Heinemann, Kelly, Hurder & Lundgren, ); even though test developers found it useful in differentiating those who were rehabilitation ready from those who were not (Ansell, ). The behavioural sequence of recovery proposed through WNSSP item‐order has also been challenged (Lannin, Cusick, McLachlan & Allaous, ). Further, there has been no examination of concurrent validity with measures of function – for example the Functional Independence Measure™ (FIM™) (Hamilton, Granger, Sherwin, Zielezny & Tashman, ).…”