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Abstract
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OBJECTIVE: To investigate the predictors of cognitive performance of adult rugby players with concussion during the first 72 h.
BACKGROUND: Patients with sports concussion may present cognitive deficits within the first days after neurotrauma, which in turn may lead to post-concussion syndrome and/or long-term cognitive dysfunction. Few studies investigated factors related to cognitive performance in rugby concussions players during the first 72 h.
DESIGN/METHODS: The participants were drawn from the Argentina- Sports Concussion Assessment & Research Study (Arg-SCARS). The Arg-SCARS was created to assess all rugby players in the office setting two or three days after concussion. Such multimodal assessment includes a clinical interview, symptom self-report, neurocognitive testing, and vestibular-oculomotor screening. A multiple linear regression was calculated including all participants to determine which variables predicted global cognitive performance as assessed by a global composite score.
RESULTS: Ninety-two rugby players with concussion (aged 17-34 years) participated in the study. The mean age was 22 years-old and 71.7% of the subjects had more than 15 years of education. 20% competed in elite teams. The number of years playing rugby and of concussions was 14.72 and 1.94, respectively. The average severity score of post-concussion symptoms was 14.49. 47.3% had post-traumatic amnesia. Compared to normative data, 13.2% of subjects had reduced global memory as measured by the memory composite score. The ANOVA test showed the existence of a linear relationship between the set of predictor variables and cognitive performance (F (6) = 6,708, p = 0.002). A higher duration of post-traumatic amnesia (p = 0.037) and higher severity of post-concussion symptoms (p = 0.01) were associated with lower global cognitive composite score even after adjusting for the other variables in the model.
CONCLUSIONS: The major determinants of poor cognitive performance in adult rugby players within the first 72 h after concussion were duration of post-traumatic amnesia and severity of post-concussion symptoms.
Language: en |