Recommendations for the Emergency Department Prevention of Sport-Related Concussion

• Published in: Annals of emergency medicine Vol. 75; no. 4; pp. 471 - 482
• Main Authors: Bazarian, Jeffrey J., Raukar, Neha, Devera, Gemmie, Ellis, James, Feden, Jeffrey, Gemme, Seth R., Hafner, John, Mannix, Rebekah, Papa, Linda, Wright, David W., Auerbach, Paul
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.04.2020
• Subjects: Athletic Injuries - complications; Athletic Injuries - diagnosis; Athletic Injuries - therapy; Brain Concussion - complications; Brain Concussion - diagnosis; Brain Concussion - prevention & control; Brain Concussion - therapy; Emergency Medicine - methods; Emergency Service, Hospital; Humans; Patient Discharge Summaries
• ISSN: 0196-0644; 1097-6760
• DOI: 10.1016/j.annemergmed.2019.05.032

Sport-related concussion refers to the subset of concussive injuries occurring during sport activities. Similar to concussion from nonsport mechanisms, sport-related concussion is associated with significant morbidity, including migrainous headaches, disruption in normal daily activities, and long-term depression and cognitive deficits. Unlike nonsport concussions, sport-related concussion may be uniquely amenable to prevention efforts to mitigate these problems. The emergency department (ED) visit for sport-related concussion represents an opportunity to reduce morbidity by timely diagnosis and management using best practices, and through education and counseling to prevent a subsequent sport-related concussion. This article provides recommendations to reduce sport-related concussion disability through primary, secondary, and tertiary preventive strategies enacted during the ED visit. Although many recommendations have a solid evidence base, several research gaps remain. The overarching goal of improving sport-related concussion outcome through enactment of ED-based prevention strategies needs to be explicitly studied.