Recovery in children ages 5–10 years at three months post-concussion

Abstract

Some children and adolescents have persistent concussion symptoms that extend beyond the typical 3–4 week recovery window. Our understanding about what to expect when recovery is atypical, particularly in elementary-age children, is incomplete because there are very few targeted studies of this age group in the published literature. Aims were to identify lingering symptoms that present at three months post-concussion and to determine what factors are associated with prolonged recovery in an elementary-age group. Participants were 123 children aged 5–10 years who were seen at specialized concussion clinics, divided into expected and late recovery groups. Parents rated concussion symptoms on a scale from the Sideline Concussion Assessment Tool-5 (SCAT-5). The most frequent symptoms were headache, irritability, feeling more emotional, and sensitivity to noise. Stepwise logistic regression determined that female sex and total symptom burden at initial visit, but not any specific symptom, predicted prolonged recovery. Clinicians are advised to carefully monitor children who report numerous symptoms after concussion, particularly when the concussed children are girls.

Keywords:

• Child
• concussion
• symptoms
• recovery

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Sarah Sprinkle, MA, for her assistance in the preparation of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No conflicts of interest were declared by any of the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The North Texas Concussion Registry (ConTex) was funded by a grant from the Texas Institute for Brain Injury and Repair (TIBIR), a state-funded initiative as part of the Peter J. O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Support for the use of REDCap came from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under award number [UL1TR001105].