Cognitive and Behavioral Outcome Following Mild Traumatic Head Injury in Children

Abstract

Persisting problems following mild head injury in children are more common in those with previous head injury, preexisting learning difficulties, or neurological, psychiatric, or family problems. These "at-risk" children should be identified in the emergency department and monitored.

Postconcussive Symptom Exaggeration After Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

“…[1][2][3][4][5][6] This finding corresponds with the general conclusions of several critical reviews, [7][8][9] as well as meta-analytic studies with both pediatric and adult samples. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17] In contrast, when examining outcomes by using subjectively reported symptoms, a minority of pediatric patients endorse more persistent problems.…”

“…[24][25][26][27][28] Symptoms after pediatric mTBI are also associated with multiple other noninjury factors, including premorbid symptom ratings, 23 premorbid learning and behavioral problems, 29,30 demographic factors, 23 maladaptive coping, 31 comorbid bodily injury and pain, 32 and parental anxiety and family stress. 6,33 Anothernoninjury factor thatlikely helps to account for some postconcussive problems is symptom exaggeration and/ or feigning, which has been neglected almost entirely in the pediatric mTBI literature. In compensation-seeking mTBI adult samples, malingering is foundsurprisinglyoften, in 40% to50% of cases.…”

Canadian pediatric emergency physician knowledge of concussion diagnosis and initial management

“…5 Symptoms of concussion may overlap with more severe pathologic traumatic brain injury or mimic other medical conditions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and headache syndromes. [6][7][8][9][10] The identification of concussion is critical to deliver appropriate care and support to patients and their families. [11][12][13] Persistent symptoms following concussion can have a devastating impact.…”

Parent-Child Interaction Therapy as a Family-Focused Approach for Young Children with Traumatic Brain Injury

“…While it has been well established in the literature that severe TBI in young children is associated with cognitive deficits, similar to the behavioral sequela described previously, cognitive deficits following mild TBI have not been well documented in the literature (Ponsford et al, 1999). The majority of studies report no adverse effects of a mild TBI on long-term cognitive functioning Ponsford et al, 1999).…”

“…The majority of studies report no adverse effects of a mild TBI on long-term cognitive functioning Ponsford et al, 1999). …”