What is the Impact of Early Rehabilitation and Rehabilitation Management on Outcome after Polytrauma?

Abstract

Patients with polytrauma and other severe musculoskeletal injuries often suffer from permanently impaired functionality and quality of life. This results in long-term damage with high costs for the social system. A narrative review will show the impact of targeted coordination in the rehabilitation process from early rehabilitation to long-term case management on patients with severe musculoskeletal injuries. A systematic database search of MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library identified studies of multiple injuries that compared the outcome of early rehabilitation and rehabilitation management with other types of care. Studies of predominantly neurologic injury types, soldiers, and mild injury types with an ISS less than 9 or AIS less than 3 were excluded. Four studies were included and analyzed. They looked at functionality, quality of life, psychological impairment, and costs. While treatment and total costs were higher for early rehabilitation and rehabilitation management, no better results for improved function, psychological condition and quality of life could be demonstrated in the group comparison. An effect estimate is possible due to small group differences and the small number of individual studies included. There are insufficient studies to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of the early interventions. Future studies are needed that take into greater account structures of standard care and national differences in social security systems, as well as the chosen rehabilitation management interventions.