The Study of Cognitive Rehabilitation Effectiveness for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Phase IV Study of Cognitive Rehabilitation Effectiveness for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

The objective of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation in OIF/OEF service members with a history of mild traumatic brain injury and persistent (3-24 months post injury) cognitive complaints. This is a prospective, randomized, control treatment trial of cognitive rehabilitation for OEF/OIF Service Members with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and persistent (3-24 months post-injury) cognitive complaints. Subjects will be recruited from consecutive patient referrals to the TBI Service at SAMMC-North. Patients who meet eligibility criteria and consent to participate in the treatment trial will be randomly assigned to one of four, 6-week treatment arms of the study. Subjects will be evaluated prior to the start of treatment and 3, 6, 12, and 18 weeks following the initiation of the study. The total number of patients to be studied is 160 (maximum), which is approximately 20 patients per month.

This is a prospective, randomized, control treatment trial of cognitive rehabilitation for OEF/OIF Service Members with a history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and persistent (3-24 months post-injury) cognitive complaints. Subjects will be recruited from consecutive patient referrals to the TBI Service at SAMMC-North. Patients who meet eligibility criteria and consent to participate in the treatment trial will be randomly assigned to one of four, 6-week treatment arms of the study: 1. Psychoeducational control group; 2. Non-therapist directed, computerized cognitive rehabilitation; 3. Therapist-directed individualized cognitive rehabilitation; and 4. Integrated interdisciplinary cognitive rehabilitation combined with cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy. (Components of the treatment arms are described in detail in section 4.6; Research Design and Methods.) All subjects enrolled in the study will receive the standard of care in management of chronic post-concussive symptoms, consistent with the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Concussion/mild TBI (Barth et al., 2009), regardless of treatment assignment. The standard of care includes provision of patient education materials (adapted from existing studies to address more persistent rather than acute symptom management), regular scheduled follow-up with a medical provider every three weeks, and symptom-based treatment of post-concussive complaints (e.g., medication trials for headache and co-occurring psychiatric disorders, physical therapy for vestibular complaints, case management, and supportive counseling with social work for soldiers assigned to the Warriors-in-Transition Battalion). Study participants who are assigned to treatment arms 2, 3, or 4 will additionally receive manualized cognitive rehabilitation therapies during the 6-week treatment phase of the study. Cognitive rehabilitation treatment intensity (i.e., number of hours of treatment per week) will be matched for individuals assigned to treatment arms 2, 3, or 4. Participants assigned to the control treatment group (treatment arm 1) will be offered individualized cognitive rehabilitation therapy if their cognitive complaints do not abate following the completion of the six-week treatment trial.

Study participants will be evaluated prior to the initiation of treatment, as well as at 3-weeks, 6-weeks, 12-weeks, and 18-weeks following the start of treatment. Study evaluators will be blind to treatment assignment. Pre-treatment baseline assessments and peri-/post-treatment outcome assessments will include demographic information, injury-related variables, self-report inventories, performance on neuropsychological testing, and functional status (e.g., work status; healthcare utilization). Detailed descriptions of the data to be collected including primary and secondary outcome measures, as well as co-variate measures can be found in section 4.8: Instrumentation.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of mTBI as defined in the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Concussion/mild TBI (Barth et al., 2009) which occurred during deployment in support of OEF/OIF within 3-24 months of study enrollment;
• Presence of cognitive complaints (NSI score of 3 or higher on any of the four cognitive symptoms)
• Ability to understand and communicate in English.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Medical/psychiatric/neurologic co-morbidities of: blindness/low vision; uncontrolled seizure disorder; psychosis; history of moderate, severe TBI or penetrating BI; or Spinal Cord Injury with no use of upper extremities;
• Active participation in intensive (> 5 appointments per week) treatment for amputation, orthopedic trauma, burns, substance abuse, or post-traumatic stress disorder which would preclude full participation in an intensive cognitive rehabilitation program; or
• Daily use of narcotic pain medication(s).