Reducing the length of Post Traumatic Amnesia (PTA) after traumatic brain injury

Associate Professor Lannin and colleagues conducted a randomised controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of an environmental reorientation program on time to emergence from PTA in 40 inpatients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

All participants in the trial suffered disorientation from PTA; we provided those allocated to the control group with usual care, while the intervention group received an environmental reorientation program led by an occupational therapist aimed at improving orientation to person (signage, photographs and familiar items), place (signage and cueing) and time (calendar clock and cueing to environment).

Outcome of time to emergence from PTA was measured on the Westmead PTA Scale. People who received the environmental reorientation program spent fewer days in PTA (median 11 days (95% confidence interval (CI) 6.84 – 15.16)) when compared to the control group (median 23 days (95% CI 10.77 – 35.23)).

This research was funded by the Royal Automobile Club (Victoria) through a Sir Edmund Herring Scholarship.

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