A - 24 Exploring Vestibular/Ocular and Cognitive Dysfunction as Prognostic Factors for Protracted Recovery in Sports-Related Concussion Patients Aged 8–12 Years

Abstract

Abstract Objective To explore the prognostic ability of the Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening (VOMS) tool, the King-Devick Test (KD), and the C3 Logix Trails A and B (C3), individually and in combination, for identifying protracted recovery from sports-related concussion (SRC) in patients aged 8–12 years. Methods 114 youth athletes aged 8–12 years diagnosed with a SRC within 7-days of injury participated in this study. The prognostic ability of the VOMS, KD, and C3 to classify patients as normal versus protracted recovery, defined as recovery time greater than 30-days, was evaluated using measures of test validity and predictive ability. Results After adjustment for age and days since injury, a positive VOMS was associated with 1.31 greater days to recover (p = 0.02) than a negative VOMS. The KD, and the C3 were not significantly associated with recovery time (all p > 0.05), nor were any combinations of tests (any 2 or 3 positive tests, all 4 positive tests). The VOMS prognostic ability to predict normal recovery (NPV = 80.78% [95%CI = 63.73–90.95]) was moderate. Overall predictive accuracy of normal versus protracted recovery was strongest when a participant screened positive on 3 out of 4 possible measures (Acc = 66.67% [95%CI = 57.23–75.22]). Conclusions The VOMS was the most useful test for identifying patients who will experience a normal SRC recovery time, however, combining the VOMS with KD and C3 improved prognostic accuracy. These findings suggest that combining multiple, varied assessments of cognition and vestibular/ocular functions may be useful for understanding factors contributing to protracted recovery from SRC.