OBJECTIVE: The goal of the study was to assess fatigue in traumatic brain injury patients (TBI), identify potential predictors of its occurrence and its impact on quality of life.
MATERIAL/PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study about 25 patients suffering from TBI conducted in the physical medicine and rehabilitation department. The fatigue assessment was performed by two scales: Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) and EVA Fatigue (EVAF). Depression was evaluated by the HAD scale. Quality of life was assessed by (SF36) scale.
RESULTS: The average age of our patients was 32.19±12.37 with a sex-ratio of 3.5. Thirteen patients (52%) were victims of severe TBI. Fatigue was present in 64% of patients (FSS>36). The mean score calculated by the FSS scale was 42.64±16.43. The mean EVA Fatigue was 5.23±2.32. Depressive symptoms was found in 68% of TBI, 94% of them have expressed fatigue (P=0.01). The average score for quality of life assessed by SF36 was 43.63±15.8. We found a significant correlation between the FSS score and the SF36 score (P<0.01, r=-0.76). Fatigue was more common in males (P=0.01, r=0.53). In addition, fatigue was negatively correlated with the level of education (P=0.03, r=-0.44). However, fatigue was not related to the period length after TBI, the initial GSG score or to the age.
DISCUSSION-CONCLUSION: Fatigue is a persistent symptom after traumatic brain injury. It is often undervalued. Depressive symptoms may be responsible for its appearance. Fatigue had a significant impact on quality of life. The proposal for specific rehabilitation protocols taking into account the aspect of fatigue may be efficient for these patients.