Clinical trial NCT05520710: Symptom-Targeted Rehabilitation for Concussion
Official title: Symptom-Targeted Rehabilitation for Concussion in Canadian Armed Forces Veterans
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Keywords: Cognitive Rehabilitation
Cognitive Functioning
Lead sponsor: McMaster University
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Atlas Institute for Veterans and Families
First posted: 2022-08-30
Enrollment: 55
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 100
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: Participants will be randomized to either the Therapy (n=30) or Education Group (n=30). At the conclusion of therapy (for the Therapy Group) or after three weeks (for the Education Group), participants will be re-administered the outcome measures. The outcome measures using the Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM), Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM), and Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) will then be compared during data analysis between the two groups.
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: The investigators are comparing two methods for helping improve everyday cognitive functioning in Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) veterans who have sustained a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The two methods are 1) providing educational materials (Education Group) and 2) individual cognitive rehabilitation delivered by a trained Occupational Therapist or Speech-Language Pathologist (Therapy Group). The study is a pilot randomized controlled clinical trial (RCT), and will serve as pilot data for a future RCT.

Detailed description: The investigators are comparing two different methods for helping Canadian Armed Forces veterans with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) manage everyday cognitive difficulties. Cognitive rehabilitation is a type of therapy that helps people with brain injury who have challenges in everyday thinking. The investigators have developed a streamlined version of this type of cognitive rehabilitation therapy that can be done in person or virtually and takes place over a 3-week period. The investigators will provide education materials only to one group and individual cognitive rehabilitation delivered by a trained Speech Language Pathologist or Occupational Therapist to the other group. The investigators want to find out whether the individual therapy is better than providing the usual educational material. The therapy sessions are audio-recorded. At McMaster, the investigators job is to listen to the recordings and making sure the therapists are following the study manual. That includes making notes of what the therapists say or do. What the investigators learn in this study may help veterans with mTBI and cognitive issues affect their abilities to do everyday activities.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Is a community-dwelling Canadian Armed Forces veteran.
* Is age 18 years or older.
* Self-identifies as a fluent English speaker.
* Has no previous history of neurological disorder affecting cognition, by self-report.
* Is able to participate in rehabilitation for 4 weeks: 3 weeks of treatment + baseline + outcome assessment, with potential rescheduling for missed sessions.
* Is not actively participating in cognitive rehabilitation directed by a registered health professional (e.g., speech-language pathologist or occupational therapist).
* Has access to an electronic device with Zoom video platform capacity and internet access.

Exclusion Criteria:

* A score of less than 20 on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which indicates a risk for dementia.
* Cannot identify at least 3 problems on the Common Cognitive Complaints after Concussion Questionnaire (C4), as there would be insufficient areas for intervention.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Recruitment Rate
timeFrame: 12 months
measure: Adherence to Intervention
timeFrame: 12 months
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Acceptability of the Intervention
timeFrame: Measures administered during intake (baseline), immediately after one of sessions 6-10 depending on targets achieved, and 1 month post-treatment.
measure: Acceptability of the Appropriateness
timeFrame: Measures administered during intake (baseline), immediately after one of sessions 6-10 depending on targets achieved, and 1 month post-treatment.
measure: Acceptability of the Feasibility
timeFrame: Measures administered during intake (baseline), immediately after one of sessions 6-10 depending on targets achieved, and 1 month post-treatment.
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Hamilton
country: Canada
facility: McMaster University
state: Ontario
Study officials:
affiliation: McMaster University School of Rehabilitation Science
name: Lyn Turkstra, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: McMaster University School of Rehabilitation Science
name: Jackie Bosch, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Garber BG, Rusu C, Zamorski MA. Deployment-related mild traumatic brain injury, mental health problems, and post-concussive symptoms in Canadian Armed Forces personnel. BMC Psychiatry. 2014 Nov 20;14:325. doi: 10.1186/s12888-014-0325-5.
citation: Soble JR, Silva MA, Vanderploeg RD, Curtiss G, Belanger HG, Donnell AJ, Scott SG. Normative Data for the Neurobehavioral Symptom Inventory (NSI) and post-concussion symptom profiles among TBI, PTSD, and nonclinical samples. Clin Neuropsychol. 2014;28(4):614-32. doi: 10.1080/13854046.2014.894576. Epub 2014 Mar 14.
citation: Tanev KS, Pentel KZ, Kredlow MA, Charney ME. PTSD and TBI co-morbidity: scope, clinical presentation and treatment options. Brain Inj. 2014;28(3):261-70. doi: 10.3109/02699052.2013.873821.
citation: Hoffman AN, Taylor AN. Stress reactivity after traumatic brain injury: implications for comorbid post-traumatic stress disorder. Behav Pharmacol. 2019 Apr;30(2 and 3-Spec Issue):115-121. doi: 10.1097/FBP.0000000000000461.
citation: Management of Concussion/mTBI Working Group. VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Concussion/Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. J Rehabil Res Dev. 2009;46(6):CP1-68. No abstract available.
citation: Loignon A, Ouellet MC, Belleville G. A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis on PTSD Following TBI Among Military/Veteran and Civilian Populations. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2020 Jan/Feb;35(1):E21-E35. doi: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000514.
citation: Cicerone KD, Goldin Y, Ganci K, Rosenbaum A, Wethe JV, Langenbahn DM, Malec JF, Bergquist TF, Kingsley K, Nagele D, Trexler L, Fraas M, Bogdanova Y, Harley JP. Evidence-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation: Systematic Review of the Literature From 2009 Through 2014. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2019 Aug;100(8):1515-1533. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2019.02.011. Epub 2019 Mar 26.
citation: Marshall S, Bayley M, McCullagh S, Velikonja D, Berrigan L, Ouchterlony D, Weegar K; mTBI Expert Consensus Group. Updated clinical practice guidelines for concussion/mild traumatic brain injury and persistent symptoms. Brain Inj. 2015;29(6):688-700. doi: 10.3109/02699052.2015.1004755. Epub 2015 Apr 14.
citation: Cooper DB, Bowles AO, Kennedy JE, Curtiss G, French LM, Tate DF, Vanderploeg RD. Cognitive Rehabilitation for Military Service Members With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2017 May/Jun;32(3):E1-E15. doi: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000254.
citation: Nasreddine ZS, Phillips NA, Bedirian V, Charbonneau S, Whitehead V, Collin I, Cummings JL, Chertkow H. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA: a brief screening tool for mild cognitive impairment. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005 Apr;53(4):695-9. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53221.x.
citation: Malec JF, Smigielski JS, DePompolo RW. Goal attainment scaling and outcome measurement in postacute brain injury rehabilitation. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1991 Feb;72(2):138-43.
citation: Blevins CA, Weathers FW, Davis MT, Witte TK, Domino JL. The Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation. J Trauma Stress. 2015 Dec;28(6):489-98. doi: 10.1002/jts.22059. Epub 2015 Nov 25.
citation: Weiner BJ, Lewis CC, Stanick C, Powell BJ, Dorsey CN, Clary AS, Boynton MH, Halko H. Psychometric assessment of three newly developed implementation outcome measures. Implement Sci. 2017 Aug 29;12(1):108. doi: 10.1186/s13012-017-0635-3.