Follow-up visits after a concussion in the pediatric population: An integrative review.
Scott Ramsay, V Susan Dahinten, Manon Ranger and 1 others
PMID 37005895WHAT IT FOUND
Children and youth are not consistently followed up after a concussion diagnosis.
Reported follow-up rates varied widely from 13.2% to 99.5%. Evidence on factors influencing attendance, such as age, sex, and insurance, was inconsistent across studies.
Key findings
01Follow-up visit rates after pediatric concussion varied greatly across studies, ranging from 13.2% to 99.5%.
02Only eight of the twenty-two included studies explicitly reported the time to the first follow-up visit, with durations ranging from a median of 4 days to a mean of 8.1 months.
03Factors associated with follow-up attendance were mixed: some studies linked higher attendance to hospitalization or persistent symptoms, while others found no association with injury severity or sex.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The review included only English-language studies published in the last 10 years. Included studies used varying definitions of follow-up and time frames, preventing direct comparison. Few studies measured the time to first follow-up visit, limiting conclusions on timing. All included studies were quantitative; no qualitative data on patient barriers were synthesized. Sample sizes and data sources varied widely, from small surveys to large administrative datasets.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the wide range of follow-up rates (13.2% to 99.5%) as evidence that one demographic or clinical factor reliably predicts attendance. The evidence is inconsistent, and rates vary significantly based on how the study measured follow-up.