ArticleBMC neurology2022
Validity of the Early Functional Ability scale (EFA) among critically ill patients undergoing early neurological rehabilitation.
Article in BMC neurology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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4 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Overall rehabilitation prognosis for the level of functioning following moderate to severe acquired brain injury: a study using routinely collected health record data.Acta neurologica Belgica · 2026Article
- Evaluation of factors influencing the reduction of home mechanical ventilation dependency in patients planned to receive home health care.BMC palliative care · 2026Article
- Rehabilitation outcomes after comprehensive post-acute inpatient rehabilitation following moderate to severe acquired brain injury-study protocol for an overall prognosis study based on routinely collected health data.Diagnostic and prognostic research · 2025Article
- Development and Effect Evaluation of an Action-Oriented Interdisciplinary Weaning Protocol for Cuffed Tracheostomy Tubes in Patients with Acquired Brain Injury.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
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7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundA reliable assessment of the functional abilities of patients after severe brain damage is crucial for valid prognostication and treatment decisions, but most clinical scales are of limited use among this specific group of patients.
aimThe present study investigates the usefulness of the Early Functional Ability (EFA) scale, which determines the functional abilities of severely impaired patients.
methodsCritically ill patients consecutively admitted to early neurological rehabilitation were screened for eligibility. We assessed the correlation between the EFA scale and (i) the Early Rehabilitation Barthel Index (ERBI), and (ii) the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). The 1-year outcome on the Glasgow Outcome Scale-extended (GOSE) was used to examine the predictive validity. Demographical and medical variables were entered into univariate and multivariate binary regression models to identify independent predictors of 1-year outcome.
resultsTwo hundred fifty-seven patients (168 men) with a median age of 62 years (IQR = 51-75) were enrolled. The correlation of the EFA scale with the CRS-R was high but low with the ERBI upon admission. Multivariate regression analysis yielded the vegetative subscale of the EFA scale as the only independent predictor for the 1-year outcome of patients admitted to early neurological rehabilitation.
conclusionsThis study shows a high correlation of the EFA scale with the CRS-R but a weak correlation with the ERBI in patients with low functional abilities. With improving patient abilities, these correlations were partly reversed. Thus, the EFA scale is a useful tool to assess the functional abilities and the prognosis of critically ill patients adequately and may be more feasible than other scales.
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