Early comprehensive rehabilitation after onset of head injury has for many years been credited as shortening hospitalization and increasing functional outcome.

There has been many studies of functional outcome and length of stay following rehabilitation with controversial results, especially regarding factors influencing outcome.

Therefore the present study explores the status of comprehensive rehabilitation of head injured patients in Korea, and factors influencing functional outcome and length of hospitalization.

The study was done retrospectively through a medical record search of 30 head injured patients admitted to Severance Hospital, Seoul, Korea between March 1, 1985 and February 28, 1988.

The results are as follows:

1) Fourteen cases (48.9%) were in their 3rd and 4th decade. Twenty-three cases were male, seven female: the male/female ratio thus being 3.3:1

2) The most common cause of injury was traffic accidents (76.7%). Skull fracture, intracranial hematoma, and cerebral contusion were combined in mose severe cases.

3) Average duration until physical therapy since injury was 4.5 weeks, and that until comprehensive rehabilitation since injury was 7.2 months.

4) There was a tendency for Performance Intelligence Quotient to be lower than Verbal Intelligence Quotient (p<0.05). Performance Intelligence Quotient was highly correlated with PULSES and Disability Rating Scale at discharge(p<0.005).

5) The adapted PULSES profile score and Disability Rating Scale were highly correlated with each other at each point in time(p<0.005).

6) Factors influencing outcome were age at injury and Performance Intelligence Quotient(p<0.005).

7) Factors influencing length of hospitalization were Glasgow Coma Scale and length of Posttraumatic amnesia(p<0.05).