Article

Fatigue after acquired brain injury may be related to the
subcortico-frontal attention network. Depression is also strongly related to
fatigue. This study investigates whether injury localization, diagnosis and
depression are related to self-rated mental fatigue in patients with an acquired
brain injury. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional cohort study. SUBJECTS:
Sixty-one patients diagnosed with stroke, subarachnoidal haemorrhage, traumatic
brain injury, or brain tumour were included in the study.
METHODS: Patients who
underwent a multidisciplinary team assessment during September 2011 to June 2012,
and who were assessed with the Mental Fatigue Scale, were included in the study.
RESULTS: A significantly higher number of patients with posterior and
non-specific lesions experienced fatigue compared with those with
subcortical/frontal injuries. Fewer stroke patients experienced fatigue compared
with the other patient groups. How-ever, after logistic regression, only
depression remained as an explanatory variable for self-rated fatigue.
Nevertheless, although all patients with depression were fatigued, not all
fatigued patients were depressed. CONCLUSION: Although depression explains a high
degree of fatigue after an acquired brain injury, mental fatigue after brain
injury should be viewed as a condition partly separate from depression. Future
extensive comparative studies are required, preferably including
neuropsychological measures.

Langue : ANGLAIS