The Rehabilitation of People with Traumatic Brain Injury. - Review - book review

Journal of Rehabilitation,  April-June, 2001  by Joseph E. Havranek

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The Rehabilitation of People with Traumatic Brain Injury

B. H. Woo and S. Nesathurai
Editors
Boston Medical Center
Boston, MA
2000, 127 pp.

This monograph is "intended to be used as a portable reference for physiatrists and other professionals interested in the treatment of patients who have sustained a traumatic brain injury [TBI]" (p. 5). It provides an overview of the recovery process from coma to community re-entry along a continuum of treatment settings. The authors all acknowledge the critical importance of a team approach to TBI treatment and rehabilitation. The book is remarkable for its concise, yet thorough approach to a difficult subject. Although laden with medical terminology, it is not beyond understanding by trained rehabilitationists.

Subjects covered include epidemiology, pathology, and surgical management of TBI; initial PM&R medical consultation; cognitive rehabilitation; neuropsychological interventions; neuropharmacology; seizures control, upper motor neuron syndrome, spasticity, heterotropic ossificans, and contracture management; olfactory and vision impairments; community reintegration; mild TBI; and pediatric TBI.

The chapters are brief but provide a tremendous amount of information, and the chapter structure is typically very direct. For example, the chapter on the initial rehabilitation medicine consultation includes a statement of the purpose of the chapter, elements of a consultation, comorbid conditions, pressure ulcers, contractures, upper motor neuron syndrome and spasticity, DVT prophylaxis, pulmonary issues, neuroendocrine complications, pain, bowel management, autonomic dysfunction, nutrition, cognition, prognosis, disposition and discharge planning, long-term issues, and ends with a checklist of important report elements. Each of these subjects typically gets one or two paragraphs of coverage.

Special features include a number of informative tables, concise and consistent language style of each chapter, highly qualified writers on each subject (15 in all), and warnings about potentially adverse treatments. The targeted audience for this book is obviously physiatrists, but allied medical and rehabilitation professionals will also find it of value when serving individuals with TBI.

The editors are Buck H. Woo, Ph.D., and Shanker Nesathurai, M.D. Dr. Woo is an Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, and a neuropsychologist at the Neurological and Cognitive Rehabilitation

Programs at Boston Medical Center. Dr. Nesathurai is Chairman and Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, and Chief of Rehabilitation Services at Boston Medical Center. The Rehabilitation of People with Traumatic Brain Injury is a concise reiteration of the medical aspects of TBI. This reviewer's only criticism is the lack of inclusion of the integral role of the rehabilitation counselor and the rehabilitation nurse in re-entry and adjustment to TBI issues.

Joseph E. Havranek, Ed.D., CRC
Associate Professor of Rehabilitation Counseling
Bowling Green State University

COPYRIGHT 2001 National Rehabilitation Association
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group