Post-traumatic Headache After Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Association With...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Neurology
• Neuroscience
• Traumatic Brain Injury Research

Background:

• Post-traumatic headache (PTH) is a frequent complication following pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI).
• Limited understanding exists regarding the impact of PTH on broader recovery domains after pediatric TBI.
• The relationship between subjective headache complaints and objective neurocognitive deficits requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between PTH and other common symptoms post-pediatric TBI.
• To explore if subjective headache reports correlate with objective neurocognitive impairments.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 121 children (ages 3-19) with TBI.
• Utilized the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) for symptom assessment, defining PTH by a score >2.
• Analyzed data from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System and Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Second Edition (WASI-II) for neurocognitive evaluation.

Main Results:

• Headache was reported in 33% of pediatric TBI patients.
• The PTH group exhibited a 5-fold higher median total SCAT symptom score compared to the no-headache group (45.5 vs 9).
• Patients with PTH showed significantly lower scores in color naming, matrix reasoning, letter sequencing, and letter switching.

Conclusions:

• Headache following pediatric TBI is associated with elevated symptom burden across sleep, mood, sensory, and cognitive domains.
• PTH correlates with poorer performance on objective neurocognitive assessments.
• Identifying PTH may help pinpoint pediatric TBI patients needing specialized follow-up and management.