A systematic analysis of research investigating the proportion of children with persistent postconcussive symptoms (PPCS) and possible mediators of prevalence was carried on by the researchers for a study.
On April 16, 2020, searches were made in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, Scopus, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Children aged 18 years with a concussion or mild traumatic brain injury, operational definition of PPCS, evaluation of postconcussive symptoms at least 4 weeks postinjury, sample sizes & proportion with PPCS accessible, and a study published in English were the inclusion criteria for the study. Each article collected the definition of PPCS, sample size, the proportion of individuals identified with PPCS, child sex and age at injury, time post-injury, premorbid symptoms, diagnosis (concussion or mild traumatic brain injury), and research publication year. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to evaluate the study’s quality.
The analysis included thirteen trials with a total of 5,307 individuals. About 35.1% of children were classified as having PPCS (weighted average; 95% CI, 26.3%-45.0%). In more recent publications, the prevalence of PPCS was greater in older and female children who reported for care at concussion clinics.
PPCS affects one-third of children with a concussion or moderate traumatic brain injury. Children at high risk for PPCS may be identified using age, gender, and point of care.
Reference: jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(22)00289-X/fulltext
