Concussion is confusing us all.
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Sharp, DJ
Jenkins, PO
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
It is time to stop using the term concussion as it has no clear definition and no pathological meaning. This confusion is increasingly problematic as the management of 'concussed' individuals is a pressing concern. Historically, it has been used to describe patients briefly disabled following a head injury, with the assumption that this was due to a transient disorder of brain function without long-term sequelae. However, the symptoms of concussion are highly variable in duration, and can persist for many years with no reliable early predictors of outcome. Using vague terminology for post-traumatic problems leads to misconceptions and biases in the diagnostic process, producing uninterpretable science, poor clinical guidelines and confused policy. We propose that the term concussion should be avoided. Instead neurologists and other healthcare professionals should classify the severity of traumatic brain injury and then attempt to precisely diagnose the underlying cause of post-traumatic symptoms.
Date Issued
2015-06-01
Date Acceptance
2015-02-01
Citation
Practical Neurology, 2015, 15 (3), pp.172-186
ISSN
1474-7766
Publisher
BMJ Publishing Group
Start Page
172
End Page
186
Journal / Book Title
Practical Neurology
Volume
15
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt and build upon this work, for commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License URL
Sponsor
Guarantors of Brain
National Institute for Health Research
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust- BRC Funding
Identifier
PII: practneurol-2015-001087
Grant Number
N/A
NIRH-RP-011-048
RDA03
Subjects
Concussion
Mild traumatic brain injury
Post-concussive
TBI
Traumatic brain injury
Brain Concussion
Brain Injuries
Cognition Disorders
Confusion
Disease Management
History, 20th Century
History, 21st Century
History, Medieval
Humans
Mental Disorders
Neuroimaging
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
England