Research Letter: Long-Term Outcomes Following Cognitive Rehabilitation for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A 5-Year Follow-Up of a Cohort From the SCORE Randomized Clinical Trial

Objective:To examine the functioning of military service members 5 years after completing a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of cognitive rehabilitation for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Setting:Home-based telephonic interview and internet-based self-ratings. Participants:Sixty-nine of the 126 (55%) active-duty service members who were enrolled in a 4-arm RCT of cognitive rehabilitation 3 to 24 months after mTBI and were successfully contacted by phone 5 years later. Original and 5-year follow-up participants in each of 4 RCT treatment arms included: psychoeducation (n = 32 original, n = 17 follow-up), computer (n = 30 original, n = 11 follow-up), therapist-directed (n = 30 original, n = 23 follow-up), integrated (n = 34 original, n = 18 follow-up). Design:Inception cohort evaluated 5 years after completion of an RCT of cognitive rehabilitation. Main Measures:Postconcussion symptoms (Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory total score), psychological distress (Symptom Checklist-90-revised Global Severity Index score), and functional cognitive/behavioral symptoms (Key Behaviors Change Inventory total average score). Results:Participants' postconcussive symptoms and psychological distress improved at the 5-year follow-up. Functional cognitive/behavioral symptoms were not significantly improved, but therapeutic gains were maintained across time, to 5 years after completing the RCT. Conclusion:In this sample of military personnel, postconcussive symptoms and psychological distress significantly improved from posttreatment to 5 years after cognitive rehabilitation, regardless of treatment arm. Functional cognitive/behavioral symptoms significantly improved with treatment while treatment gains were maintained at the 5-year follow-up. Replication of these results with a larger sample and interim data between 18 weeks and 5 years post-treatment is needed.