After concussion, kids’ quality of life may dip for months

Kids with persistent symptoms months after a concussion have lower quality of life than kids who have recovered, but even kids who recovered quickly may still struggle, according to a new Canadian study. 


“While it has been long-understood that brain injuries may negatively impact quality-of-life (especially in those patients with severe injuries who have required surgery), we were surprised to see that the quality-of-life following concussion may have prolonged effects (3 months or more) on school even in those children who had recovered within one month,” said senior author Dr. Roger Zemeck of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute in Ottawa.

“Fortunately, most children recover fairly quickly following concussion; only about 30 percent of children exhibit multiple symptoms lasting beyond one month from the time of their injury,” and meet the criteria for persistent postconcussion syndrome, Zemeck told Reuters Health by email.

The researchers evaluated quality of life factors for about 2,000 kids aged 5 to 18 years who had presented to an emergency department within two days of suffering an acute concussion.

Read the full story @ Reuters.