The pattern of recovery after severe head injury.

The pattern of recovery after head injury was studied on the basis of clinical data on 200 patients. An unmistakable pattern was found in which it was possible to distinguish between symptoms of only short duration (due to the unfavourable prognosis, among other things), symptoms which showed a fairly quick recovery such as the E score and the oculovestibular response, and symptoms characterized by a longer interval between the accident and their recovery. A clear difference was found between the pattern recovery of E scores and oculovestibular response on the one hand, and recovery of M and V scores on the other. The implications of the pattern of recovery thus established, are discussed.