The authors examined a total of 3,091 athletes between the ages of 12 and 30 years old, who played a variety of sports - ranging from middle-school sports through to adult athletics - and the RPQ was used to get a baseline assessment.
At the start of the study the athletes gave their coach, trainer or school nurse permission to contact the researchers if they sustained a concussion. The inclusion criteria were as follows: having sustained a suspected concussion less than two weeks ago that resulted in a loss of consciousness, post-traumatic amnesia, dizziness, nausea, headache or balance issues. Additional criteria included: blurred vision and feeling dazed and confused at the time of the accident. Of the total 3,091 participants, 89 (2.9%) sustained a concussion and were analysed with the RPQ.
Using the collected data, researchers were able to highlight six predominant subtypes, that could then be used to identify the most urgent treatment needs. It was found that of the six categories, cognitive fatigue and sleep disturbances were most prevalent, followed by migraine, vestibular, anxiety and mood, and lastly oculomotor. It was also noted that a history of concussion, as well as pre-injury reports of cognitive-fatigue, vestibular issues and migraine increased the intensity of post-concussion reporting of these three subgroups.
The classification of the most prevalent symptoms with the RPQ can be valuable for clinicians to guide early treatment. The RPQ is also used to detect elevated symptoms within one week and can be useful in determining prognosis and recovery time after a concussion. While the RPQ does has its limitations, such as narrowing the specific issues to one of these six subgroups, it aids in prioritisation of care for the healthcare professional.
> From: Maruta et al., Front Neurol 9 (2018) 1034 . All rights reserved to . Click here for the online summary.
