This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Haley, S. M. Articles by Dumas, H. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Haley, S. M. Articles by Dumas, H. M. Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Traumatic Brain Injury Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Outcome Rating Scales for Pediatric Head Injury

Health and Disability Research Institute, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, smhaley{at}bu.edu

Robert J. Graham, MD

Department of Anesthesia, Division of Critical Care, Children’s Hospital Boston, Massachusetts

Helene M. Dumas, MS, PT

Research Center for Children with Special Health Care Needs, Franciscan Children’s Hospital, Boston Massachusetts.

Intensivists, surgeons, neurologists, and others involved in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) have an important investment in both short-and long-term outcomes of children and adolescents with head injury who are treated under their care. Outcomes are most often documented by either single-or multiple-item rating scales and are implemented both during and after hospital care. For this review, the authors have organized the content of rating scales into 6 general classes: (1) mortality prediction, (2) severity, (3) global recovery, (4) activity restrictions, (5) secondary adverse conditions, and (6) limitations in participation, quality of life, and health status. Rating scales that describe the outcomes of children and adolescents after head injury are used to monitor medical and functional recovery, guide clinical management, drive quality assurance initiatives, and conduct clinical research. The authors restrict their selective review to rating scales that describe child outcomes (vs family) and that have been reported and applied in the outcome literature. Although head injury is a major cause of mortality and short-and long-term morbidity in children and adolescents, there is no consensus on which rating scales are optimal for hospital care or community follow-up. Major considerations for clinical use are feasibility, type of outcome information needed, content breadth across multiple ages and levels of recovery, and utility in determining the short-term impact of PICU care on long-term outcome.

Key Words: brain injury • pediatrics • assessment • outcomes • functional status

Journal of Intensive Care Medicine, Vol. 19, No. 4, 205-219 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0885066604265798


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. Munson, E. Schroth, and M. Ernst The Role of Functional Neuroimaging in Pediatric Brain Injury Pediatrics, April 1, 2006; 117(4): 1372 - 1381. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]