title: Fatigue, psychosocial adaptation and quality of life one year after traumatic brain injury and suspected traumatic axonal injury; evaluations of patients and relatives: a pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe fatigue and its relationship to cognition, psychosocial adjustment, quality of life (QoL), work status and relative's experiences 12 months after suspected traumatic axonal injury (TAI).
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighteen patients were assessed with the Daily Fatigue Impact Scale (D-FIS), the Barrow Neurological Institute Screen for Higher Cerebral Functions (BNIS), the European Questionnaire 5 Dimensions health-related quality of life, the Glasgow Coma Outcome Scale Extended, and the European Brain Injury Questionnaire (EBIQ) (patient and relative). Return to work was registered.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 1 year, fatigue still caused great problems in daily life. Although fatigue and cognition (BNIS) did not correlate, the more fatigued patients subjectively experienced significantly more cognitive dysfunction. Although D-FIS and QoL did not correlate, most patients reported that feelings of tiredness and dullness related to having lower QoL. However, lower QoL was associated with cognitive and attention disability (BNIS), subjective perception of executive dysfunction, lack of motivation, and mood disturbances (EBIQ). Neither fatigue nor cognition associated with return to work. The general consequences of TAI showed good agreement between patients' and relatives' experiences.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The patient's subjective experience of the impact of TAI seems to be most essential, as it is the objective reality that the patient responds to, and this should therefore be assessed and treated.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. eva.esbjornsson@neuro.gu.se
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Esbjörnsson
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Skoglund
authors.forename: Katharina S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Sunnerhagen
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D020833:Diffuse Axonal Injury / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011788:Quality of Life; D062707:Return to Work / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires