Neuropsychological assessments in relation to CBF after severe head injuries.

Abstract

To determine whether neuropsychological outcome is related to cerebral blood flow (CBF) early in the recovery phase. Twelve consecutive patients (mean age of 30 years, range 15-48 years) with severe traumatic brain injuries were subjected to a neuropsychological test battery at admission to the rehabilitation unit and after 3, 6 and 12 months. CBF measurements were performed at admission and 6 and 12 months later with a high-resolution, two-dimensional regional cerebral blood flow system with 254 stationary detectors after 1 min of (133)Xe inhalation (70-100 MBq/l). Mean CBF values were within normal range already in the early post-acute phase and remained virtually unchanged during the first year of rehabilitation. A correlation was found between the individual CBF level and neuropsychological outcome 1 year after injury, particularly with regard to verbal memory capacity, reasoning capacity, and information processing speed.