Return to work (RTW) has always been a determinant functional outcome in patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). However, the quality of long-term RTW was still unclear. This study thus aims to examine long-term work quality and to reveal its associating factors. A total of 110 patients with MTBI was prospectively recruited. Post-concussion symptoms (PCS) and RTW were evaluated by the Checklist of Post-Concussion Symptoms (CPCS) and Work Quality Index (WQI) respectively at one-week and long-term evaluation (M = 2.90 years, SD = 1.29) post-injury. Only 16% of patients can successfully RTW at one-week post-injury, while 69% of patients have retained their jobs at long-term evaluations. Importantly, 12% of patients had to work under the adverse impacts of PCS at one-week after MTBI, and long-term WQI was significantly associated with PCS at one-week post-injury. Almost 1/3 of patients still had unfavorable long-term work quality even though they could return to work. Thus, a careful evaluation of the early PCS endorsement and work quality for patients with MTBI is merited.
Keywords: Long-term; mild traumatic brain injury; post-concussion symptoms; work quality.