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Abstract
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INTRODUCTION: The sequelae of concussion is of growing concern within Rugby. World Rugby has introduced rule changes to improve player welfare and reducing head injury frequency. We aimed to report the incidence of head injuries and head injury assessment (HIA) at the 2019 Rugby World Cup (RWC).
METHODS: We reviewed all 45 tournament matches; recorded the number of head injuries, the injured player's position, the mechanism of injury, whether the player had an HIA and if they returned to play following injury. We compared these findings to previous RWCs.
RESULTS: We recorded 68 head injuries (1.33/game). Thirty-six players (52.9%) were removed from the field of play for an HIA. Of these 23 (63.9%) failed and therefore considered to have concussion. The head injury rate in 2019 was 37.8 per 1000 player hours which increased from previous tournaments (22.0 in 2015; 14.6 in 2011; 4.7 in 2007). The concussion rate was 23 per 1000 player hours in 2019 which was lower than 29 in 2015. In 2019, 63.9% of HIAs were failed compared to 48.7% in 2015. We identified 17 cases where medical staff didn't attend to a player suffering a head injury on-field. Of which four players underwent an HIA after the match doctor reviewed the incident.
CONCLUSION: We recorded a higher rate of head injuries and a player was more likely to fail their HIA than in previous tournaments. These findings may represent a greater awareness from medical staff and the benefits of education. However, 25% of head injuries not receiving an initial on-field assessment provides room for improvement.
Language: en |