title: Agitation assessment in severe traumatic brain injury: methodological and clinical issues.
abstract: The aim of this single case study was to evaluate the applicability of a graphic and statistical time-series analyses in the observation of an agitation disturbance in a 16-year-old patient who had sustained a severe traumatic brain injury. The agitation was measured using the Agitated Behaviour Scale. The experimental model was of the A-B type: phase A corresponded to the period of vegetative state, and phase B to the period following the reawakening from coma. The data were submitted to visual and statistical analysis by the split-middle trend line method, function of autocorrelation, and C statistic. The results show the different nature and frequency of the agitated behaviour during the vegetative state and after reawakening from coma. The application of a statistical analysis to establish whether the behavioural disturbance is random or a response to the environment allows the adoption of specific and potentially more efficacious treatments.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Unit, Salvatore Maugeri Foundation, IRCCS, Scientific Institute of Veruno, Via per Revislate 13, 28010 Veruno, Italy. eangelino@fsm.it
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Angelino
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miglioretti
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Zotti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D018458:Persistent Vegetative State / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D011595:Psychomotor Agitation / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology*