Psychosocial long-term outcome of severe head injury as perceived by patients, relatives, and professionals.
OBJECTIVE
We systematically compared information on psychosocial outcome of severe head injury (SHI) gathered from different informants.


METHODS
We evaluated psychosocial outcome in 33 subjects 8.1 +/- 1.4 years after having suffered SHI using data gathered from the patients themselves, caring relatives, and an assessing neurologist.


RESULTS
Our data confirm long-lasting negative effects of SHI on psychosocial functioning even in patients with only mild or moderate neurological impairment. Specific problems in social intercourse, stemming from impaired self-control, are regularly reported by the relatives and probably underestimated by the patients and by the doctors. In contrast, we found a remarkable agreement between self-report and professional estimation in other aspects of psychological consequences of SHI such as depressed mood and social withdrawal.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results challenge the common view that patients having suffered from severe SHI are altogether unreliable informants. However, SHI patients tend to have difficulties in monitoring their specific problems of control of behaviour in social relationships. Therefore information gathered from the caring relatives should always be included when evaluating psychosocial sequels of severe SHI.
Spatt
J
J
2.Department of Neurology, Neurological Hospital Rosenhügel, LBI-Institute of Epilepsy and Neuromuscular diseases, Vienna, Austria.
Zebenholzer
K
K
Oder
W
W
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology; D016489:Head Injuries, Closed / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010555:Personality Inventory; D011788:Quality of Life; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome