Fatigue following pediatric acquired brain injury : interplay with associated factors in a clinical trial population compared to healthy controls

Objective: The aims of the present study were to compare fatigue levels in children with pediatric acquired brain injury (pABI) with healthy controls (HCs), and examine the interplay of fatigue with associated factors. Method: We used baseline data from a preregistered randomized controlled trial. Seventy-six children aged 10-17 (median 13 years) with pABI in the chronic phase (88% with confirmatory cerebral imaging findings) and executive function (EF) complaints were included, most with moderate disability according to The Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended (GOSE-E) categorization. HCs consisted of 60 children aged 10-17 (median 13 years). All 127 participants completed measures of fatigue and intelligence. pABI participants were also assessed for behavioral problems, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and EF. Nonparametric statistics were employed, in addition to a network analysis to model the unique associations between parent-reported fatigue and related factors. Results: Parents reported significantly more fatigue in the pABI-group (75% of scores in clinical range