Concussion or Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Parents Appreciate the Nuances of Nosology

Abstract

We explored whether parents of our pediatric patients valued the diagnostic terms "concussion," "minor traumatic brain injury," and "mild traumatic brain injury" as equivalent or nonequivalent. 1734 of 2304 parents attending a regional pediatric emergency department completed a brief questionnaire assessing the equivalence or nonequivalence of the diagnostic terms "concussion," "minor traumatic brain injury," and "mild traumatic brain injury" in a pairwise fashion. Many parents viewed these diagnostic terms as equivalent, when assessed side by side. For those who considered these diagnostic terms nonequivalent, concussion was regarded as considerably "better" (or less "worse") than minor traumatic brain injury (P < 0.001, χ(2) test) or mild traumatic brain injury (P < 0.001, χ(2) test). A moderate degree of variability was evident in parent/guardian responses. As a group, parents reported that concussion or mild/minor traumatic brain injuries are valued equivalently. However, many parents considered them different, with concussion reflecting a "better" (or less "worse") outcome.