P.114 The impact of screening for anxious and depressive symptoms on the outcome of patients with a mild traumatic brain injury

Abstract

Background: An estimated 27-69 million individuals worldwide sustain a mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) each year, making it an important public health concern. Many victims experience post-injury neuropsychological issues such as anxiety and depression, which are associated with more post-concussive symptoms and worse functional outcomes. We sought to determine a systematic process to document the presence of anxiety and depression symptoms in mTBI patients to prevent negative impacts on their recovery. Methods: We administered the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised (CESDR-10) questionnaires, no more than three months after injury, to screen for these symptoms. A retrospective chart review was performed for 328 patients from the Montreal General Hospital mTBI Clinic who either received these questionnaires (N=143, Mage=40.36, SDage=15.557, Nfemale=90, Nmale=53) or did not (N=185, Mage=41.17, SDage=16.449, Nfemale=114, Nmale=71). The number of interventions received between groups were compared using ANOVA. Results: Patients who received the questionnaires (M=1.34, SD=0.978) were referred to significantly more interventions than those who did not (M=0.90, SD=0.876, p<0.001) and the rate of referral positively correlated with GAD-7 and CESDR-10 scores. Conclusions: Screening for symptoms of anxiety and depression post mTBI helps clinicians refer patients to the appropriate resources, which in turn should improve outcome.