Fatigue in traumatic brain injury patients

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 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.