ABSTRACT

Objective: We evaluated cognitive, emotional, and social function after encephalitis, as perceived and reported by individuals post-encephalitis and their relatives.

Hypothesis: There will be differential effects on various domains as self-reported by individuals post-encephalitis. Outcomes will be worse than in prior studies of other forms of acute brain injury. Post-encephalitis relative-report will demonstrate worse outcomes than self-report.

Methods and Procedures: Members of The Encephalitis Society residing in the United Kingdom and Ireland were recruited to complete a demographic questionnaire and the European Brain Injury Questionnaire (EBIQ).

Results: 266 individuals affected by encephalitis and 140 relatives participated in this study. The three domains with the highest (worst) mean scores were somatic, cognitive, and communication (p < .001). Individuals post-encephalitis self-reported worse outcomes than individuals post-stroke in seven of nine domains (p < .005), but there were no differences compared to individuals post-traumatic brain injury (TBI). Relatives reported worse encephalitis outcomes in seven of nine domains than did individuals directly affected by encephalitis (p < .005).

Conclusions: Individuals affected by encephalitis experience the most significant symptoms in the somatic, cognitive, and communication domains. Outcomes as assessed by relatives were notably worse than those assessed by individuals themselves in nearly all domains.

摘要

目的：我们评估了脑炎后个体及其亲属所感知和报告的脑炎后的认知、情绪和社会功能。

假设：脑炎后个体自我报告的各个领域都会有不同的影响。结果将比之前对其他形式的急性脑损伤的研究更糟糕。脑炎后亲属报告将显示比自我报告更糟糕的结果。

方法和程序：招募居住在英国和爱尔兰的脑炎协会成员完成人口调查问卷和欧洲脑损伤问卷 (EBIQ)。

结果： 266 名脑炎患者和 140 名亲属参加了这项研究。平均得分最高（最差）的三个领域是躯体、认知和交流( p < .001)。在九个领域中的七个方面，脑炎后个体自我报告的结果比中风后个体更差 ( p < .005)，但与创伤后脑损伤 (TBI) 个体相比没有差异。与直接受脑炎影响的个体相比，亲属报告的九个领域中有七个领域的脑炎结果更糟 ( p < .005)。

结论：受脑炎影响的个体在躯体、认知和交流领域出现最显着的症状。在几乎所有领域，亲属评估的结果都明显比个人自己评估的结果差。