20 Examining the Recovery Course of Pediatric Concussion Patients with Protracted Recovery Referred to a Specialty Concussion Clinic
Authors: Mathew Abel S. , Datoc Alison , Burkhart Scott O. , Price August M. , Ellis Christine , Sexton Jacob , Abt John P. 
Published: December 2023

Objective:

The purpose of this study was to explore overall recovery time and post-concussive symptoms (PCSS) of pediatric concussion patients who were referred to a specialty concussion clinic after enduring a protracted recovery (>28 days). This included patients who self-deferred care or received management from another provider until recovery became complicated. It was hypothesized that protracted recovery patients, who initiated care within a specialty concussion clinic, would have similar recovery outcomes as typical acute injury concussion patients (i.e., within 3 weeks).

Participants and Methods:

Retrospective data were gathered from electronic medical records of concussion patients aged 6-19 years. Demographic data were examined based on age, gender, race, concussion history, and comorbid psychiatric diagnosis. Concussion injury data included days from injury to initial clinic visit, total visits, PCSS scores, days from injury to recovery, and days from initiating care with a specialty clinic to recovery. All participants were provided standard return-to-learn and return-to-play protocols, aerobic exercise recommendations, behavioral health recommendations, personalized vestibular/ocular motor rehabilitation exercises, and psychoeducation on the expected recovery trajectory of concussion.

Results:

52 patients were included in this exploratory analysis (Mean age 14.6, SD ±2.7; 57.7% female; 55.7% White, 21.2% Black or African American, 21.2% Hispanic). Two percent of our sample did not disclose their race or ethnicity. Prior concussion history was present in 36.5% of patients and 23.1% had a comorbid psychiatric diagnosis. The patient referral distribution included emergency departments (36%), local pediatricians (26%), neurologists (10%), other concussion clinics (4%), and self-referrals (24%).

Given the nature of our specialty concussion clinic sample, the data was not normally distributed and more likely to be skewed by outliers. As such, the median value and interquartile range were used to describe the results. Regarding recovery variables, the median days to clinic from initial injury was 50.0 (IQR=33.5-75.5) days, the median PCSS score at initial visit was 26.0 (IQR=10.0-53.0), and the median overall recovery time was 81.0 (IQR=57.0-143.3) days.

After initiating care within our specialty concussion clinic, the median recovery time was 21.0 (IQR=14.0-58.0) additional days, the median total visits were 2.0 (IQR=2.0-3.0), and the median PCSS score at follow-up visit was 7.0 (IQR=1-17.3).

Conclusions:

Research has shown that early referral to specialty concussion clinics may reduce recovery time and the risk of protracted recovery. Our results extend these findings to suggest that patients with protracted recovery returned to baseline similarly to those with an acute concussion injury after initiating specialty clinic care. This may be due to the vast number of resources within specialty concussion clinics including tailored return-to-learn and return-to-play protocols, rehabilitation recommendations consistent with research, and home exercises that supplement recovery. Future studies should compare outcomes of protracted recovery patients receiving care from a specialty concussion clinic against those who sought other forms of treatment. Further, evaluating the influence of comorbid factors (e.g., psychiatric and/or concussion history) on pediatric concussion recovery trajectories may be useful for future research.