J.M. van Velzen

How many people return to work after acquired brain injury?: A systematic review

Primary objective: To investigate how many people return to work (RTW) after acquiring brain injury (ABI) due to traumatic or non-traumatic causes. Secondary objectives were to investigate the differences in outcome between traumatic and non-traumatic causes, the development of RTW over time and whether or not people return to their former job. Methods: A systematic literature search (1992–2008) was performed using terms of ABI and RTW. The methodological quality of the studies was determined. An overall estimation of percentage RTW 1 and 2 years post-injury was calculated by data pooling. Main outcomes and results: Finally, 49 studies were included. Within 2 years post-injury, 39.3% of the subjects with non-traumatic ABI returned to work. Among people with traumatic ABI, 40.7% returned to work after 1 year and 40.8% after 2 years. No effect of cause or time since injury was found. Some people with traumatic ABI who returned to work were not able to sustain their job over time. Changes of occupation and job demands are common among people with ABI. Conclusions: About 40% of the people with traumatic or non-traumatic ABI are able to return to work after 1 or 2 years. Among those with acquired traumatic brain injury a substantial proportion of the subjects were either not able to return to their former work or unable to return permanently.

Physical capacity and walking ability after lower limb amputation: a systematic review

Objective: To review the influence of physical capacity on regaining walking ability and the development of walking ability after lower limb amputation. Design: A systematic search of literature was performed. The quality of all relevant studies was evaluated according to a checklist for statistical review of general papers. Subjects: Lower limb amputees. Main measures: Physical capacity (expressed by aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, muscle force, flexibility and balance) and walking ability (expressed by the walking velocity and symmetry). Results: A total of 48 studies that complied with the inclusion criteria were selected. From these studies there is strong evidence for deterioration of two aspects of physical capacity (muscle strength and balance) and of two aspects of walking ability (walking velocity and symmetry) after lower limb amputation. Strong evidence was found for a relation between balance and walking ability. Conclusion: Strong evidence was only found for a relation between balance and walking ability. Evidence about a relation between other elements of physical capacity and walking ability was insufficient. Training of physical capacity as well as walking ability during rehabilitation following lower limb amputation should not be discouraged since several parameters have been shown to be reduced after amputation, although their relation to regaining walking ability and to the development of walking ability remains unclear.

Prognostic factors of return to work after acquired brain injury: A systematic review

Primary objective: To provide insight into the prognostic and non-prognostic factors of return to work (RTW) in people with traumatic and non-traumatic acquired brain injury (ABI) who were working before injury. Methods: A systematic literature search (1992–2008) was performed, including terms for ABI, RTW and prognostic factors. The methodological quality of the studies was determined. Evidence was classified as strong (positive, negative or no), weak or inconsistent. Main outcomes and results: Following classification of the studies, 22 studies were included. Strong evidence was found that ‘gender’ and ‘anatomic location’ were not associated with RTW after non-traumatic ABI and that both ‘injury severity’ (classified by the Glascow Coma Scale) and ‘suffering from depression’ or ‘anxiety’ were not associated with RTW after traumatic ABI. In addition strong evidence was found for the negative prognostic value on RTW of the ‘inpatient length of stay’, after traumatic ABI. Weak evidence was found for the three trainable/treatable factors ‘ability to perform activities of daily living’, ‘residual physical deficits/higher disability level’ and ‘number of associated injuries’. Conclusion: Strong evidence was found that six variables either had no association or a negative association with RTW. It is recommended to focus in rehabilitation on the factors for which weak evidence was found but that are trainable/treatable with the goal of improving the process of vocational rehabilitation.

P021 The effect of botulinum toxin treatment on activity level of patients with spastic hemiparesis after stroke

Discussion: In 7 patients, i.e. 47 % of the examined group, the maximal strength of the muscles spanning the knee joint was decreased. In the others, although normal, was close to the lower border of the normal range. At the same time nearly all TS patients had decreased pelvic tilt, which could be sign of the weakness of the muscles responsible for the pelvis orientation. The abnormalities of upper and lower body found during clinical evaluation of body posture also suggested decreased muscular strength. It is known that girls with TS have poorer motor development, which could result in decreased muscular strength, and our findings support this thesis. Decreased muscular strength could also negatively influence the locomotor abilities. In contrast to Mizuta we did not find any anatomical problems within the knees, which could influence the functional performance TS patients. This study was supported by research grant AWF DS.105.