New consensus statement on the treatment of concussions

Earlier this week, a new consensus statement was released by the powers that be that discusses the recognition and treatment of concussions in sports. Along with this statement came a revised version of the SCAT test, the SCAT3.

The first important part of this statement for the layperson is that it reinforces the standard of practice that requires coaches and medical staff to hold a person out of play on the same day of a suspected concussion. I agree with this statement completely since I have found several instances where symptoms of concussion have not been apparent until several hours after the time of injury.

We need to take every concussion seriously and stop ignoring the signs just to win a game. This is a very poor priority and is not in the spirit of a quality athletics program for youth. Unfortunately, this is has not always been the case in my experience, even recently.

The other significant point is that the statement reinforces a need for a gradual return to play by which the patient slowly increases their activity. This is meant to take at least six days, but it may take much longer if symptoms persist. This could be weeks, months, or even years.



For those that are interested in seeing the statement, it can be found at:
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/5/250.full.pdf

The new SCAT3 adult version (ages 13 and up) is here:
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/5/259.full.pdf

The new SCAT3 pediatric version (5-12 yo) is here:
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/5/263.full.pdf

And finally the new Concussion Recognition Tool (for laypersons to identify a potential concussion) is located here:
http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/5/267.full.pdf

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