Rehabilitation in Pediatric Patients with Acute and Subacute Acquired Brain Injury: A Scoping Review on Non-Pharmacological Interventions.

Background

Acquired brain injury in children and adolescents may lead to long-term neurological, cognitive, motor, and behavioral impairments. However, pediatric-specific evidence on rehabilitation strategies remains limited.

Objective

This review aimed to summarize current evidence on non-pharmacological neurorehabilitation interventions for children and adolescents with acute/subacute acquired or traumatic brain injury, including a subset of patients with disorders of consciousness.

Methods

A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus. Eligible studies investigated non-pharmacological rehabilitation approaches in pediatric or adolescent patients with severe acquired brain injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, or disorders of consciousness. Data on interventions, outcomes, and main findings were extracted.

Results

The reviewed studies included heterogeneous interventions, such as multidisciplinary rehabilitation, constraint-induced movement therapy, virtual-reality-based training, speech therapy, parent-child interaction therapy, sensory stimulation, autonomic monitoring, and neuromodulation. Overall, these approaches were feasible and generally well tolerated, with reported improvements in motor, functional, behavioral, autonomic, and consciousness-related outcomes.

Conclusions

Non-pharmacological rehabilitation may support recovery in children and adolescents with severe brain injury, although current evidence remains preliminary and heterogeneous. Further multicenter studies with standardized protocols and outcome measures are needed to guide pediatric-specific rehabilitation practice.