Article

OBJECTIVE: To compare parental report of symptoms of concussion for children with
superficial head injury versus children with a diagnosis of a mild traumatic
brain injury (mTBI). SETTING: Urban hospital emergency department. PARTICIPANTS:
Parents of 159 children aged 2 to 12 years who presented with an injury to the
head. PROCEDURE: Parents were contacted within 1 week of injury and assigned into
3 groups according to their child's age and medical diagnosis (group 1, parents
of 2- to 5-year-olds with mTBI (n = 39); group 2, parents of 6- to 12-year-olds
with mTBI (n = 41); and group 3, parents of 2- to 12-year-olds with superficial
injury to the head (n = 35). RESULTS: Symptoms of concussion were reported in all
groups; however, significantly fewer symptoms were reported for children with
superficial injuries to the head than for children with mTBI (M = 2.51 vs M =
6.91; P < .001). For mTBI, parents of younger children reported significantly
fewer symptoms than parents of older children (M = 5.23 vs M = 8.51; P < .001).
CONCLUSIONS: A careful approach needs to be taken when evaluating the severity of
mTBI for preschool children. Failure to do so may result in misidentification and
subsequent lack of management.

Langue : ANGLAIS