Article

Recently, Bedell reported data from the US on functional changes
during inpatient rehabilitation for children with ABI. Similar data for Australia
is not available. The aim of this study was to measure functional outcomes of
children admitted to rehabilitation in Victoria, Australia and to explore
predictors of outcome to contribute to international benchmarking of paediatric
services. Method: The Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI) was
administered to 72 children (aged 8 months to 16 years) within 3 days of
admission to rehabilitation and again in the 3 days prior to discharge to measure
functional skills in self-care, mobility and social function. Outcome data for
the three domains are described and baseline and injury characteristics explored
as predictors of outcome using linear regression models. Results: Significant
improvements in PEDI scores across all domains were demonstrated from admission
to discharge. Older age at injury, higher baseline scores and being female were
all predictive of better outcomes at discharge. Conclusions: Findings revealed
that patterns of recovery in this sample were similar to those reported in
previous studies. Continued use of the PEDI for inpatient rehabilitation is
recommended to further investigate effects of injury type and the impact of
therapy on outcome.

Langue : ANGLAIS