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Grade 1 or "ding" concussions in high school athletes.
Mark R Lovell1, Michael W Collins, Grant L Iverson
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15203,USA.
The American Journal of Sports Medicine
|February 3, 2004
Summary
Mild concussion in high school athletes causes memory deficits and symptoms that persist for over a week. Current return-to-play guidelines for grade 1 concussions may be too lenient, requiring reconsideration.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Neuroscience
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Current guidelines allow athletes with mild (grade 1) concussions to return to play if asymptomatic for 15 minutes.
- This study evaluates the effectiveness of these guidelines in managing mild concussions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the utility of current concussion management guidelines for mild concussions.
- To determine if high school athletes with grade 1 concussions show persistent neuropsychological deficits during the first week of recovery.
Main Methods:
- Prospective study design.
- Neuropsychological functioning and symptom ratings were assessed in 43 high school athletes before and during the first week after a mild concussion.
Main Results:
- Thirty-six hours post-injury, athletes with mild concussions showed significant memory decline (P < 0.003) and increased self-reported symptoms (P < 0.00001) compared to baseline.
- These deficits and symptoms persisted beyond the immediate post-injury period.
Conclusions:
- Mild concussion leads to persistent memory deficits and symptoms in high school athletes.
- Current grade 1 return-to-play recommendations may be too liberal, suggesting a need to reconsider concussion grading systems.