Neuropsychological assessments in relation to CBF after severe head injuries

Objective-To determine whether neuropsychological outcome is related to cerebral blood flow (CBF) early in the recovery phase. Material and methods-Twelve consecutive patients (mean age of 30 years, range 15-48 years) with severe traumatic brain injuries were subjected to a neuropsychological test battery at admission to the rehabilitation unit and after 3, 6 and 12 months. CBF measurements were performed at admission and 6 and 12 months later with a high-resolution, two-dimensional regional cerebral blood flow system with 254 stationary detectors after 1 min pf Xe-133 inhalation (70-100 MBq/l). Results and conclusion-Mean CBF values were within normal range already in the early post-acute phase and remained virtually unchanged during the first year of rehabilitation. A correlation was found between the individual CBF level and neuropsychological outcome 1 year after injury, particularly with regard to verbal memory capacity, reasoning capacity, and information processing speed.