Citation

Fogarty AE, Guay CS, Simoneau G, Colorado BS, Segal GR, Werner JK, Ellenbogen JM. Am. J. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Neurology, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PHM.0000000000001205

PMID

31441834

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Concussion with transient loss of consciousness (tLOC) is a commonly observed but poorly understood phenomenon with mounting clinical significance. This study aimed to examine the relationship between head motion in varying planes and tLOC in athletes with brain injuries. STUDY DESIGN: A case-control design was utilized. The Ultimate Fighting Championship database was screened for events ending with knockouts (KO) from 2013 to 2016. Time of strike, striking implement, strike location, and head motion were recorded for all KO strikes (cases), and for a subset of non-KO strikes (controls). Characteristics of winners and losers were compared using 2-tailed t-tests. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine odds ratios for strike characteristics associated with tLOC. The Kaplan-Meier estimate was used to describe the temporal distribution of KO's.

RESULTS: 136 fights were identified and 110 videos were included. Head motion in the axial plane was strongly associated with tLOC (OR, 45.3; 95% CI, 20.8 - 98.6). Other predictors of tLOC were head motion in sagittal and coronal planes, non-fist striking implements and strikes to the mandible or maxilla. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve demonstrated a decreasing rate of KO's through time.

CONCLUSION: Rotational head acceleration, particularly in the axial plane, is strongly associated with tLOC.

Language: en