Abstract
Although symptom burden and symptom profile severity are independent predictors of post-concussion symptom duration, few studies have examined their effects on prolonged recovery simultaneously. This study examined differences in symptom burden and symptom profile scores between concussed children with prolonged recovery and those with typical recovery. We conducted a retrospective case-control study of concussed children aged 10–18 years. Prolonged recovery was defined as symptom duration beyond 28 days post-injury. Symptom burden was measured as total symptom score (TSS) at injury. Symptom profiles included: (1) vestibular, (2) ocular, (3) cognitive/fatigue, (4) migraine, and (5) anxiety. A total of 4380 unique concussions sustained by 3777 patients were included; 80.3% white, 60.0% male, and 44.0% aged 13–15 years. The prolonged recovery group had a significantly higher TSS and greater number of symptoms than the typical recovery group (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). The prolonged recovery group had significantly higher scores on all five symptom profiles, including vestibular (p < 0.001), ocular (p < 0.001), cognitive/fatigue (p < 0.001), migraine (p < 0.001) and anxiety (p < 0.001), than the typical recovery group, even after adjusting for number of symptoms and other covariates. Further studies using prospective cohort designs are needed to better understand the influence of symptom burden and profiles on pediatric concussion recovery.
Highlights
Concussions are a growing public health concern, especially among children and adolescents as their brains are still developing [1,2,3]
Consistent with previous studies [5,19,20,21,22], we found that the prolonged recovery group had an increased symptom burden, including total symptom score (TSS) and number of symptoms, at injury
We found that the prolonged recovery group had higher severity scores on all five symptom profiles, when adjusting for patient characteristics, symptom burden, as well as other covariates
Summary
Concussions are a growing public health concern, especially among children and adolescents as their brains are still developing [1,2,3]. Each year, up to two million sport- and recreation-related concussions occur among US children ≤18 years old [1]. Most children recover within four weeks, up to 30% of children experience ongoing and persistent post-concussion symptoms (PPCSs), which could last weeks, months, or years post-injury [4,5]. Children with PPCSs often face adverse outcomes such as increased risk for poor academic performance [6,7], missed school days and social activities [6,7], and an overall decreased quality of life compared to children without. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 351; doi:10.3390/ijerph17010351 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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