Key result
Baseline concussion-like symptoms meeting ICD-10 PCS criteria were reported by 20.3% of healthy adolescent athletes, with no effect on SCAT3 cognitive or balance performance.
Why the study?
What is the baseline rate of concussion-like symptoms in healthy adolescent student athletes?
Cross-Sectional (n=349)
What is the baseline rate of concussion-like symptoms in healthy adolescent student athletes?
Healthy adolescent athletes frequently report concussion-like symptoms at baseline, emphasizing the importance of considering pre-injury symptomatology when evaluating post-concussion recovery.
Pre-injury symptoms warrant consideration during post-concussion assessment; leaves open their prognostic value for recovery in adolescents.
OBJECTIVE: The primary goals of this study were (1) to report rates of concussion-like symptoms in healthy adolescent student athletes assessed using the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool, 3rd edition (SCAT3) at baseline, (2) to examine rates of psychiatric diagnoses in this population, and (3) to evaluate effects of baseline symptoms on SCAT3 cognitive and balance performance. METHODS: 349 adolescent student athletes (245 male) were administered the SCAT3 during pre-participation physical examinations. We described the prevalence rate of student athletes meeting criteria for International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, post-concussional syndrome (ICD-10 PCS) diagnosis at baseline, and evaluated associations between symptom reporting and demographic/medical history factors using chi-square tests. Rates of self-reported psychiatric diagnosis were compared to general population estimates with one-sample binomial tests. We also compared SCAT3 cognitive and balance performance between adolescents with and without baseline ICD-10 PCS symptoms. RESULTS: Overall, 20.3% of participants met ICD-10 PCS criteria at baseline. Rates were similar across sexes and age groups. We found no statistical association with medical history factors. The proportion of student athletes reporting a history of psychiatric diagnosis (5.2%) was significantly lower than general population estimates (14.0%; p < .001), and this effect was consistent across sexes and age groups. SCAT3 cognitive and balance performance did not differ based on baseline symptom reporting. CONCLUSIONS: Healthy adolescent student athletes frequently report concussion-like symptoms at baseline. Clinicians should factor pre-injury symptomatology and medical history into concussion management when determining symptom etiology throughout the course of recovery.
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Asken et al. (2016) conducted a cross-sectional in Healthy adolescent student athletes (n=349). Baseline concussion-like symptoms vs. No baseline symptoms was evaluated on Meeting criteria for ICD-10 post-concussional syndrome (PCS) diagnosis at baseline. Baseline concussion-like symptoms meeting ICD-10 PCS criteria were reported by 20.3% of healthy adolescent athletes, with no effect on SCAT3 cognitive or balance performance.
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