Objective: To determine the incidence and predictors of early ankle contracture in adults with acquired brain injury. Methods: A prospective cohort study of patients admitted to Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit (NICU), University Malaya Medical Centre and referred for rehabilitation within a period of 12 months. Adult patients with newly diagnosed acquired brain injury with no prior deformity to lower limbs, Glasgow Coma Scale ≤ 12, no concomitant spinal or lower limb injuries, medical stability at inclusion into the study and agreed to participate for the total duration of assessment (3 months) were recruited. We conducted weekly review of ankle muscle tone and measurement of ankle maximum passive dorsiflexion motion. The end point is reached if ankle contracture developed or completed 3 months post injury assessment. Results: The cohort included 70 patients, of which only 46 patients completed the study. Twenty-eight patients suffered from severe brain injury whilst 18 from moderate brain injury. Out of the 46 patients, 13 (28%) developed ankle contracture at the end of the study period. Abnormal motor pattern was significantly associated with incidence of ankle contracture, which included spasticity (p<0.001), spastic dystonia (p=0.001) and clonus (p=0.015). Using univariate analysis, the predictors for ankle contracture were spasticity (OR 51.67, CI 7.53-354.52, p<0.001), spastic dystonia (OR 27.43 CI 2.84-265.35, p=0.004) and clonus (OR 4.18 CI 1.33-13.19, p =0.015). Conclusion: Abnormal motor patterns are strongly associated with early incidence of ankle contracture amongst adult with new diagnosis of moderate to severe acquired brain injury despite a regular standard therapy program. This is an important clinical finding towards early prevention of ankle contracture.
Contracture ; Ankle

his is a short-term longitudinal study of physical, cognitive, psychological and functional outcomes following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in adults, caused by road traffic accident (RTA). Outcome measures were the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the Neuropsychological Assessment Battery Screening Module (S-NAB), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) scale. Functional outcomes included returning to working/academia and driving, lifestyle changes, financial claims and litigation status. A total of 285 individuals were diagnosed with mTBI, involving young male motorcyclists (90%): uncomplicated mTBI, n=201; complicated mTBI, n=84. Ethnic distribution consisted of 204 Malays, 58 Indians and 23 Chinese. MoCA detected cognitive deficits (mean=23.11, SD=3.41) within 72 hours of injury. At two weeks, somatic manifestations, physical injuries, cognitive deficits and psychological symptoms were detected. At three months of injury, the language domain was persistently impaired, with a lower score on most cognitive domains in the complicated mTBI category than the uncomplicated mTBI. Psychological and somatic symptoms had improved. Almost 50% of patients had returned to a functional baseline within two weeks of injury and a further 24% within three months. A small proportion of patients made active lifestyle changes (<25%), financial injury claims (38%) and were involved in litigation (11%). In conclusion, mTBI in multi-ethnic Malaysia has multifaceted deficits and outcomes. Early management of symptoms may promote maximum recovery.
Brain Concussion