TY - JOUR
PY - 2015//
TI - The King-Devick test for sideline concussion screening in collegiate football
JO - Journal of optometry
A1 - Leong, Danielle F.
A1 - Watt, David
A1 - Gimre, Matthew
A1 - Evans, Greg
A1 - Galetta, Steven L.
A1 - Balcer, Laura J.
SP - 131
EP - 139
VL - 8
IS - 2
N2 - PURPOSE: Sports-related concussion has received increasing attention as a result of neurologic sequelae seen among athletes, highlighting the need for a validated, rapid screening tool. The King-Devick (K-D) test requires vision, eye movements, language function and attention in order to perform and has been proposed as a promising tool for assessment of concussion. We investigated the K-D test as a sideline screening tool in a collegiate cohort to determine the effect of concussion.
METHODS: Athletes (n=127, mean age 19.6±1.2 years) from the Wheaton College American football and men's and women's basketball teams underwent baseline K-D testing at pre-season physicals for the 2012-2013 season. K-D testing was administered immediately on the sidelines for football players with suspected head injury during regular games and changes compared to baseline were determined. Post-season testing was also performed to compare non-concussed athletes' test performance.
RESULTS: Concussed athletes (n=11) displayed sideline K-D scores that were significantly higher (worse) than baseline (36.5±5.6s vs. 31.3±4.5s, p<0.005, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Post-season testing demonstrated improvement of scores and was consistent with known learning effects (35.1±5.2s vs. 34.4±5.0s, p<0.05, Wilcoxon signed-rank test). Test-retest reliability was analyzed between baseline and post-season administrations of the K-D test resulting in high levels of test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)=0.95 [95% Confidence Interval 0.85-1.05]).
CONCLUSIONS: The data show worsening of K-D test scores following concussion further supporting utility of the K-D test as an objective, reliable and effective sideline visual screening tool to help identify athletes with concussion.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 1888-4296 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.optom.2014.12.005 ID - ref1 ER -