Citation

McKinlay A, Lin A, Than M. Concussion 2018; 3(1): CNC52.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Medicine, Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, The Drake Foundation, Publisher Future Medicine)

DOI

10.2217/cnc-2017-0017

PMID

30202594

PMCID

PMC6093711

Abstract

AIM: Studies have shown Emergency Department (ED) recording of traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases to be poor.

METHODS: Parents of children aged 2-12 who attended an ED with injury to the head completed a concussion checklist which was compared with medical records.

RESULTS: ED medical records commonly used head injury (HI), concussion, minor-HI and mild-HI without distinction between TBI and superficial HI. Recalled symptoms included vomiting, blurred vision and headaches versus headaches, fatigue and feeling sick from parents who reported more concussive symptoms. More cases of TBI were identifiable from parental recall compared with medical records, which recorded fewer symptoms for diagnosis, prognosis and statistical reporting of TBI.

CONCLUSION: Clear guidelines need to be implemented to improve retrospective diagnosis for incidence gathering and future clinical use.

Language: en

Keywords

concussion symptoms; medical records; traumatic brain injury