Naming Impairment and Language Disturbance During Inpatient Rehabilitation for Traumatic Brain Injury: Implications for Assessment and Intervention

PURPOSE: This study aimed to (a) identify the incidence of acute post-traumatic language disturbance (aPTLD) and types of aphasia in adults with traumatic brain injury (TBI) in an inpatient neurorehabilitation setting, (b) investigate the relationship between aPTLD and inpatient neurorehabilitation length of stay (LOS), and (c) document rates of recovery from aPTLD from admission to discharge. METHOD AND PROCEDURE: This study is a retrospective analysis of adults with TBI admitted to inpatient neurorehabilitation between 2016 and 2018 who completed the Boston Naming Test-Second Edition (BNT-2) and subtests of the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised (WAB-R). RESULTS: Almost 70% of the patients, who were level V or higher on the Rancho Los Amigos Levels of Cognitive Function Scale, demonstrated impaired BNT-2 scores. Patients with impaired BNT-2 scores experienced significantly longer total and rehabilitation LOSs. Of the patients who had WAB-R subsections for aphasia typing, the majority had fluent aphasia. More than half of the patients with admission and discharge BNT-2 scores remained impaired on this assessment at the end of their rehabilitation stay. CONCLUSIONS: Naming impairment was common during the inpatient rehabilitation period after TBI. Given the reliance of cognitive assessments on verbal output, the presence of aPTLD represents an important confound on the assessment of cognition after TBI. Assessment of language disturbance using the BNT-2 and WAB-R during subacute neurorehabilitation is feasible and provides valuable insight into the cognitive-communication status of persons with TBI.