Why the study?
Orthostatic tachycardia affects some patients after concussion or mild traumatic brain injury, but factors associated with increased risk for orthostatic tachycardia in these patients remained to be identified.
What is the prevalence and what are the risk factors for orthostatic tachycardia in children and young adults following mild traumatic brain injury?
What is the prevalence and what are the risk factors for orthostatic tachycardia in children and young adults following mild traumatic brain injury?
Post-concussive orthostatic tachycardia occurs in 7% of pediatric and young adult patients with mTBI and appears distinct from POTS due to its lack of female and adolescent predominance.
Background: Orthostatic tachycardia (OT) affects some patients after concussion/mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). In this study, we sought to identify the factors associated with increased risk for OT in patients with mTBI. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 268 patients (8-25 years) with mTBI/concussion to determine the prevalence of OT, defined as orthostatic heart rate change ≥40 bpm for those ≤19 years of age and ≥30 bpm on active standing test for those >19 years of age. Results: Among the study population, 7% (n = 19) exhibited post-concussive OT. The only significant difference between OT and non-OT groups was that history of prior concussion was more prevalent in the OT group. Conclusion: A substantial subset (7%) of concussion clinic patients exhibit OT. While POTS literature describes female and adolescent predominance, post-concussive OT had similar prevalence across age and gender groups in this study, suggesting that it may be distinct from POTS.
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Pearson et al. (2022) studied this question.
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