Trajectories of Daily Postconcussion Symptoms in Children.
Lindsay Sullivan, Menglin Xu, Keith Owen Yeates and 4 others
PMID 37335198WHAT IT FOUND
Children with moderate or high acute concussion symptoms often had persistent symptoms at 45 days.
Specific early symptoms like headache, balance problems, and fogginess predicted slower recovery. Daily symptom monitoring may help identify children needing early rehabilitation referrals.
Key findings
01Four distinct symptom trajectories were identified: low acute/resolved, moderate/persistent, high acute/resolved, and high acute/persistent.
02Children in the moderate/persistent and high acute/persistent groups had significantly elevated acute symptoms of headache, nausea, balance problems, dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness, light sensitivity, irritability, fogginess, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty remembering things.
03Demographic factors such as sex, age, race, and concussion history were not significantly associated with trajectory group membership.
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
Small sample size (79 participants) limited statistical power for subgroup analyses. Sample lacked diversity: 67.1% male, 72.2% White, 84.8% sports-related injuries. Follow-up limited to 45 days; long-term outcomes unknown. No data on clinical interventions received during the study period. Nine symptoms excluded from analysis due to low scores, potentially missing relevant predictors.
Declared interests
No specific conflicts of interest or funding sources detailed in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume all children with high acute symptom severity will have persistent recovery. The 'high acute/resolved' group (10.1%) showed high initial symptoms that resolved by 30 days, indicating acute severity alone does not predict trajectory without considering specific symptom patterns.