Factors Associated with Cognitive Difficulty after Pediatric TBI

Children with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) are at risk for cognitive difficulties. Research shows that overall severity is associated with long-term cognitive status, with more severe injuries associated with worse attention, memory, executive functioning, language and academic skill. In response to research that children with moderate to severe TBI who do not require rehabilitation are often lost to follow-up and have significant unmet health care needs, we developed a screening clinic to assess for risk factors of cognitive difficulty after moderate to severe TBI.

The purpose of the present application is to examine clinical data from this clinic in order to identify predictors of cognitive difficulty within the first month after injury in this group of children. This is a retrospective record review study that will use de-identified data.