Measuring processing speed after traumatic brain injury in the outpatient clinic 1

Abstract

Objectives:

To evaluate processing speed performance in outpatients with moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Design:

Prospective cross-sectional observational study.

Participants:

Twenty outpatients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) were compared with 20 matched healthy subjects.

Measure:

Measurement by six instruments in the domains of simple reaction time (SRT), movement time (MT), and mental processing speed at a single time occasion.

Results:

Significant differences were found in speed but not accuracy of work between outpatients with TBI and healthy subjects. Simple reaction time was sensitive to predicting patients with moderate-to-severe TBI as opposed to healthy counterparts.

Conclusion:

Outpatient clinics should consider measuring SRT.