The cognitive impairments due to the occipito-parietal brain injury after gunshot: a successful neurorehabiliation case study

Abstract

Objective : The presented case study describes the beneficial results of the neuropsychological rehabilitation of a gunshot victim, even with late initialization of the therapy--over 1 year after head trauma. Design : A case study of DE, a victim with bilateral damage of the parietal-occipital regions of the brain due to a gunshot. Methods : Neuropsychological rehabilitation, first preceded by an initial neuropsychological examination (standard psychological tests: WAIS-R, RAVLT, Rey's CFT, BVRT and clinical experiments tailored to DE's condition), was initiated 1 year after trauma. The rehabilitation programme consisted of computer-based tasks, paper-and-pencil exercises, and occupational therapy. The patient's progress was assessed as improvement in performance in standardized tests and computer-based tasks. Results : DE was diagnosed with complex cognitive deficits syndrome, including visual associative agnosia, apraxia, visuospatial and constructive disorders and linguistic defects. After 1 year of rehabilitation the patient's functioning significantly improved as measured by psychological tests and computer-based tasks ( p < 0.05) as well as the evaluation of the patient's quality of life. Conclusions : The case study demonstrates beneficial effects of neurorehabilitation even initialized at the so-called 'late stage' after a brain injury.