MANAGEMENT AND REHABILITATION OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY IN CHILDREN

Abd El-Twab, Khaled; Foaud, Hala; Youssef, John; Metwally, Hala

doi:10.21608/zumj.2013.4323

MANAGEMENT AND REHABILITATION OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY IN CHILDREN

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Professor of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Cairo University

² Lecturer of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine Cairo University

³ Professor of Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Medicine Cairo University

10.21608/zumj.2013.4323

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury is described as a blow to the head or a penetrating head damage which disturb the normal function of the brain. Traumatic brain injuries, in children are common and sometimes are powerful in threatening the life and are leading causes of acquired disability and death. Traumatic brain injury is responsible for nearly 1.4 million injuries and 52 000 deaths annually in the United States. Therefore, in this paper we reviewed the new and recent advances about the management and neuromonitoring in pediatric traumatic brain injury. And to provide a summary of the empirical research on management and rehabilitation in pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). Studies of the effectiveness of interventions with children with TBI are hampered by difficulty with combining subjects with various levels of TBI, problems with random assignment to treatment groups, and varying age levels at injury. While these are areas of concern, there are emerging studies that indicate both applied behavioral analysis (ABA) and positive behavioral interventions are helpful to many children. For some children, ABA is not successful, and a shift to positive behavioral interventions has been found to be helpful. Transitions to home and school can be difficult particularly if there are family issues that predated the injury. This review provides additional information for the pediatric neuropsychologist to assist with transition to school and home. Studies utilizing the Internet for family interventions have revealed promising results.
Conclusion: Neuromonitoring technology is still at an early stage in pediatric TBI. These improvements have provided the possibility of true multimodal monitoring for useful treatments. But, using clinical functional neuromonitoring would help clinicians to evaluate the managements in hospitals. Studies have indicated that children with severe TBI show significant difficulties with emotional and behavioral adjustment that pose more challenges for intervention and reentry to home and school compared with cognitive and physical issues.

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