The Pediatric Physiatric Posterior Fossa Symptoms scale: Impairments and outcome in pediatric inpatient rehabilitation for posterior fossa brain tumors

Background Clinical recognition of the postoperative neurologic sequelae of posterior fossa tumors is inconsistent. This study aimed to characterize functional impairments and recovery trajectories in pediatric patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation following surgical resection of posterior fossa brain tumors. This study also introduces the Pediatric Physiatric Posterior Fossa Symptom scale (3PFSs) for serial assessment of postoperative symptoms in pediatric posterior fossa brain tumors. Methods This retrospective cohort study included 49 patients aged 1.1 to 19.9 years admitted to a pediatric unit of a free-standing rehabilitation hospital following resection of a posterior fossa brain tumor. Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM) and 3PFSs scores at admission and discharge were the primary outcome measures. Results Across the group, WeeFIM score improved from 51.5 +/- 23.5 points at admission to 74.2 +/- 28.2 points at discharge (t = 4.34, P < .001). The 3PFSs score also showed improvement from 10 [Interquartile range (IQR) = 9-12] points at admission to 8 [7-10] points at discharge (t = 9.3, P < .0001). While change in both the WeeFIM and 3PFSs captured statistically significant improvement in function, there was low interrating correlation (P > .7). In addition, mortality was correlated with a higher discharge 3PFSs score (P = .007) but not discharge WeeFIM score. Conclusions In pediatric patients with postoperative neurologic sequelae due to posterior fossa brain tumors, inpatient rehabilitation resulted in global and domain-specific functional improvements. This initial application of the 3PFSs demonstrates potential applicability for stratifying patients to appropriate levels of rehabilitation, capturing functionally relevant response to rehabilitation treatment, and prognosticating long-term outcomes. These initial results are promising but require additional validation in a larger cohort.