Child and parent responses to a brain injury screening questionnaire
Joshua B Cantor1, Wayne A Gordon, Michael E Schwartz
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA. joshua.cantor@mssm.edu
Objectives:
To determine, by using a Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire (BISQ), in a sample of urban public school students, what proportion of children are at risk for having sustained a brain injury, to measure the incidence of blows to the head and alterations in mental status, and to determine whether children and parents report differently on the BISQ.
Design:
Survey.
Setting:
Research facility and community.
Participants:
A total of 137 urban students (age range, 12-19y) of varied ethnicity, who were recruited in 2 public schools, and their parents.
Interventions:
Not applicable.
Main Outcome Measure:
The BISQ as completed by children and parents.
Results:
Fourteen children (10%) were at risk for having sustained a brain injury because they or their parents reported an alteration in mental status and 5 or more symptoms sensitive and specific to traumatic brain injury. Most children were reported to have experienced blows to the head, and 50% were reported to have experienced an alteration in mental status. In all areas, no significant differences were found between parent and child reports.
Conclusions:
There may be significant numbers of children with undetected brain injury in schools. The BISQ is a useful tool to identify children at risk for having sustained a brain injury. Histories should be obtained from parents and children who are older than 11 years when screening children for brain injury.
