A new systematic review and meta-analysis has found that around 1 in 3 adults who present to an emergency department or trauma centre with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) report at least mild post-concussion syndrome (PCS) between 3 – 6 months later, although this could vary to 1 in 6 when controlling for attrition bias.
The researchers used databases to find published articles relating to adults with mTBI. They found that 3-6 months after injury, around 31.3% of adults had PCS when using a lenient definition of this – and 18.3% when using a more stringent definition.
An estimated 83.6% of patients who had a Glasgow Outcome Scale Extended score of less than 8 were found to have disability.
Post-concussion syndrome is the name given to a constellation of symptoms following concussion that can persist beyond the expected timescales for recovery from concussion. Symptoms of PCS can include headaches, feeling depression, tearful or anxious, memory problems, sleep disturbance, difficulties with memory and sensitivity to light or noise. Find out more about PCS from our Mild head injury and concussion page.
Reference: Cancelliere, C., Verville, L., Stubbs, J.L., Yu, H., Hincapié, C.A., Cassidy, J.D., Jessica Wong, J.J., Shearer, H.M., Connell. G., Southerst, D., Howitt, S., Guist, B., & Silverberg, N.D. (2023). Post-Concussion Symptoms and Disability in Adults With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Neurotrauma, 40 (11-12), 1045-1059.
DOI: 10.1089/neu.2022.0185.
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