More Postconcussive Symptoms Seen After Early Childhood Concussion

TUESDAY, March 26, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- For young children, concussion is associated with more postconcussive symptoms (PCS) than orthopedic injury (OI) or no injury, according to a study published online March 21 in JAMA Network Open.

Dominique Dupont, from the Université de Montréal, and colleagues used data collected at three Canadian pediatric emergency departments and one U.S. urban pediatric emergency department as well as eight Canadian day cares to document PCS in the first three months after early childhood concussion. The study included 303 children (mean age, 35.8 months); of these, 174 had a concussion, 60 had OI, and 69 were uninjured.

The researchers found that the concussion and comparison groups had no meaningful differences in retrospective preinjury PCS. For total PCS, there were significant group differences observed at the initial emergency department visit (odds ratios [ORs], 4.33 for concussion versus OI; 7.28 for concussion versus control); at 10 days (ORs, 4.44 and 5.94, respectively); at one month (ORs, 2.70 and 4.32, respectively); and at three months (ORs, 2.61 and 2.40, respectively). At the various time points, significant group differences were seen for domain-level scores (cognitive, physical, and behavioral).

"This study enhances our understanding of PCS in infants, toddlers, and preschool children, reinforcing the idea that early childhood concussion is not benign," the authors write. "The observed symptoms cannot be attributed to general injury or typical developmental factors."

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