EEG-NeuroBioFeedback Treatment of Patients with Brain Injury Part 4: Duration of Treatments as a Function of Both the Initial Load of Clinical Symptoms and the Rate of Rehabilitation

Résumé

Background. Twenty-seven patients with brain injury, primarily from car accidents and stroke, were treated by computer-assisted electroencephalographic NeuroBioFeedback (EEG-NBF). Methods. Patients were distributed into five clinical classes, and changes in power spectra and in cardiovascular parameters were surveyed. A rationale was proposed for the calculation of the load of symptoms for each patient of each class, which in turn provided indices of rehabilitation rates. Results. Statistically significant correlations were observed between the number of NeuroBioFeedback (NBF) treatment sessions (SN#) needed and both the initial load of symptoms (SL%) and the final rate of improvement of patients’ clinical status (IMP%). When patients were considered in all five classes of defined SL%, the relationship exhibited a hyperbolic shape, although linearity could not be totally rejected, due to the variability of data. The improvement rates could be subdivided into two major classes, in which number (SN#) was hyperbolically related to the improvement rates. In addition, finger temperature responsiveness exhibited a significant correlation with the number of NBF sessions. Conclusion. The work suggests a rationale for the prediction of the duration of treatment, by considering the patients’ initial clinical status and the levels of improvement and rehabilitation considered achievable.