OBJECT: Recent legislation and media coverage have heightened awareness of concussion in youth sports. Previous work by the authors' group defined significant variation of care in management of children with concussion. To address this variation, a multidisciplinary concussion program was established based on a uniform management protocol, with emphasis on community outreach via traditional media sources and the Internet. This retrospective study evaluates the impact of standardization of concussion care and resource utilization before and after standardization in a large regional pediatric hospital center. METHODS: This retrospective study included all patients younger than 18 years of age evaluated for sports-related concussion between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2011. Emergency department, sports medicine, and neurosurgery records were reviewed. Data collected included demographics, injury details, clinical course, Sports Concussion Assessment Tool-2 (SCAT2) scores, imaging, discharge instructions, and referral for specialty care. The cohort was analyzed comparing patients evaluated before and after standardization of care. RESULTS: Five hundred eighty-nine patients were identified, including 270 before standardization (2007-2011) and 319 after standardization (2011-2012). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.0001) were observed between the 2 groups for multiple variables: there were more girls, more first-time concussions, fewer initial presentations to the emergency department, more consistent administration of the SCAT2, and more consistent supervision of return to play and return to think after adoption of the protocol. CONCLUSIONS: A combination of increased public awareness and legislation has led to a 5-fold increase in the number of youth athletes presenting for concussion evaluation at the authors' center. Establishment of a multidisciplinary clinic with a standardized protocol resulted in significantly decreased institutional resource utilization and more consistent concussion care for this growing patient population.
OBJECT: Recent legislation and media coverage have heightened awareness of concussion in youth sports. Previous work by the authors' group defined significant variation of care in management of children with concussion. To address this variation, a multidisciplinary concussion program was established based on a uniform management protocol, with emphasis on community outreach via traditional media sources and the Internet. This retrospective study evaluates the impact of standardization of concussion care and resource utilization before and after standardization in a large regional pediatric hospital center. METHODS: This retrospective study included all patients younger than 18 years of age evaluated for sports-related concussion between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2011. Emergency department, sports medicine, and neurosurgery records were reviewed. Data collected included demographics, injury details, clinical course, Sports Concussion Assessment Tool-2 (SCAT2) scores, imaging, discharge instructions, and referral for specialty care. The cohort was analyzed comparing patients evaluated before and after standardization of care. RESULTS: Five hundred eighty-nine patients were identified, including 270 before standardization (2007-2011) and 319 after standardization (2011-2012). Statistically significant differences (p < 0.0001) were observed between the 2 groups for multiple variables: there were more girls, more first-time concussions, fewer initial presentations to the emergency department, more consistent administration of the SCAT2, and more consistent supervision of return to play and return to think after adoption of the protocol. CONCLUSIONS: A combination of increased public awareness and legislation has led to a 5-fold increase in the number of youth athletes presenting for concussion evaluation at the authors' center. Establishment of a multidisciplinary clinic with a standardized protocol resulted in significantly decreased institutional resource utilization and more consistent concussion care for this growing patient population.
Authors: Michael W Collins; Anthony P Kontos; David O Okonkwo; Jon Almquist; Julian Bailes; Mark Barisa; Jeffrey Bazarian; O Josh Bloom; David L Brody; Robert Cantu; Javier Cardenas; Jay Clugston; Randall Cohen; Ruben Echemendia; R J Elbin; Richard Ellenbogen; Janna Fonseca; Gerard Gioia; Kevin Guskiewicz; Robert Heyer; Gillian Hotz; Grant L Iverson; Barry Jordan; Geoffrey Manley; Joseph Maroon; Thomas McAllister; Michael McCrea; Anne Mucha; Elizabeth Pieroth; Kenneth Podell; Matthew Pombo; Teena Shetty; Allen Sills; Gary Solomon; Danny G Thomas; Tamara C Valovich McLeod; Tony Yates; Ross Zafonte Journal: Neurosurgery Date: 2016-12 Impact factor: 4.654
Authors: Mireille E Kelley; Joeline M Kane; Mark A Espeland; Logan E Miller; Alexander K Powers; Joel D Stitzel; Jillian E Urban Journal: J Neurosurg Pediatr Date: 2017-09-12 Impact factor: 2.375
Authors: Aaron M Yengo-Kahn; Patrick D Kelly; David C Liles; Lydia J McKeithan; Candace J Grisham; Muhammad Saad Khan; Timothy Lee; Andrew W Kuhn; Christopher M Bonfield; Scott L Zuckerman Journal: Concussion Date: 2020-10-28
Authors: Ankoor S Shah; Aparna Raghuram; Karampreet Kaur; Sophie Lipson; Talia Shoshany; Rebecca Stevens; Michael O'Brien; David Howell; Katie Fleischman; Danielle Barnack; Heather Molind; Karameh Hawash Kuemmerle; Jacob R Brodsky Journal: Clin J Sport Med Date: 2022-03-01 Impact factor: 3.454