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Updated: Mar 24, 2026
A Multi-Modal Approach to Assessing Recovery in Youth Athletes Following Concussion
Published on: September 25, 2014
Comparing people with persisting post-concussion symptoms from an emergency department-based research sample with
Maria I Sandboe1, Linda Fordal2, Alexander Olsen3
1Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway; NorHead - Norwegian Centre for Headache Research, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
Objective:
To compare characteristics of people with persisting post-concussion symptoms in a sample referred for treatment and in a sample from a prospective research study.
Design:
Observational study.
Subjects:
Participants, aged 18-60 years, with persisting post-concussion symptoms 3-18 months after mild head injury, 92 with mild traumatic brain injury followed from the emergency department ("prospective emergency department sample") and 106 patients with either mild traumatic brain injury or minimal head injury, referred to an outpatient rehabilitation clinic ("clinical rehabilitation sample").
Methods:
Persisting post-concussion symptoms were defined as having British Columbia Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory scores indicating at least moderate persisting post-concussion symptoms and/or Rivermead Post Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ) scores ≥ 12. Symptoms, functional outcome, work/school participation, resilience, and fatigue were examined at 3-18 months post injury.
Results:
Compared with the prospective emergency department sample, the clinical rehabilitation sample had higher education, higher RPQ scores (30 vs 17), lower Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended scores (median 6 vs 7), and more had not returned to work or school (43% vs 18%).
Conclusion:
Treatment-seeking patients with persisting post-concussion symptoms differed in clinically important ways from people who developed persisting post-concussion symptoms in an emergency department-based mild traumatic brain injury study. Results from studies of mild traumatic brain injury seen in the emergency department may not generalize to patients seeking specialized treatment for persisting post-concussion symptoms.
