Amantadine for Treatment of Symptoms of the Post-traumatic Confusional State

Summary

Patients with traumatic brain injury often experience a period of acute confusion that may include agitation as they recover from their injuries. While this confusion generally resolves with time, patients may pose increased risk of injury to themselves or others during this period. Their behavior may also increase stress for family members and interfere with their ability to benefit from rehabilitation therapies. A number of different medications have been used to treat confusion to decrease agitation, decrease risk of injury, and improve participation in rehabilitation therapies. To this point, there has not been a research or scientific basis for knowing which medication is the best for a specific patient. The overall goal of this study is to conduct a scientific investigation to help determine which medication works best to treat confusion. Study hypothesis: Amantadine will reduce the severity and number of symptoms of acute confusion after traumatic brain injury.

Timeline

Start

2003-04

Primary completion

2007-11

Completion

2019-03

Publications

• Background Sherer M, Yablon SA, Nakase-Richardson R, Nick TG. Effect of severity of post-traumatic confusion and its constituent symptoms on outcome after traumatic brain injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2008 Jan;89(1):42-7. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2007.08.128.
• Background Nakase-Richardson R, Yablon SA, Sherer M. Prospective comparison of acute confusion severity with duration of post-traumatic amnesia in predicting employment outcome after traumatic brain injury. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2007 Aug;78(8):872-6. doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2006.104190. Epub 2006 Dec 18.
• Background Sherer M, Nakase-Thompson R, Yablon SA, Gontkovsky ST. Multidimensional assessment of acute confusion after traumatic brain injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005 May;86(5):896-904. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2004.09.029.
• Background Nakase-Thompson R, Sherer M, Yablon SA, Nick TG, Trzepacz PT. Acute confusion following traumatic brain injury. Brain Inj. 2004 Feb;18(2):131-42. doi: 10.1080/0269905031000149542.

Drugs

Indications