Citation

Makki AY, Leddy J, Hinds A, Baker J, Paluch R, Shucard J, Willer B. Glob. Pediatr. Health 2016; 3: e2333794X16630493.

Affiliation

State University of New York at Buffalo, NY, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/2333794X16630493

PMID

27336000

Abstract

A recent retrospective study reported that 45% of a sample of elementary school, high school, and college students returned to school too soon after concussion with a recurrence or worsening of symptoms. Another study found that 38% of high school student athletes reported symptoms and problems in school after concussion, although most students did not miss many days of school. Further studies suggest that excessive mental exertion can aggravate concussion symptoms and perhaps prolong recovery. The 2012 Zurich Consensus Statement highlights modification of school attendance and activities to avoid provocation of symptoms. A gradual return to cognitive activity and to school has been recommended with “pacing” to stay below the cognitive symptom threshold.

One study showed that cognitive activity level reported by weekly recall was associated with duration of symptoms in adolescents sustaining sport-related concussion (SRC). While this study was prospective in nature, it relied on weekly recall by subjects and did not look at the specific number of school hours attended after injury. The hours spent in school may have a direct relationship with recovery time after SRC. This relationship requires further study. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the relationship of school attendance and symptoms after SRC. We specifically evaluated whether hours of school attended postconcussion was associated with increased concussion symptom severity scores and delayed recovery...

Language: en