TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2022//
TI  - Sport concussion assessment in New Zealand high school rugby players: a collaborative approach to the challenges faced in primary care
JO  - Brain injury
A1  - Salmon, Danielle M.
A1  - Chua, Jason
A1  - Sullivan, S. John
A1  - Whatman, Chris
A1  - Brown, James
A1  - Register-Mihalik, Johna
A1  - Murphy, Ian
A1  - Walters, Simon
A1  - Clacy, Amanda
A1  - Sole, Gisela
A1  - Kerr, Zachary Y.
A1  - Rasmussen, Karen
A1  - England, Mike
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To describe the collaborative development of a New Zealand Rugby Concussion Assessment (NZRCA) for primary care and to provide normative baseline data from a representative group of high school rugby players. <br><br>METHODS: This study, conducted over the 2018 and 2019 community rugby season where players were baseline tested during the pre- or start of season period. <br><br>RESULTS: Data were collected from 1428 players (males n = 1121, females n = 307) with a mean age of 15.9 ± 1.4 years. The mean ± SD symptom severity score was 11.3 ± 8.6, the mean number of endorsed symptoms was 8.5 ± 5.3 and the percentage feeling "normal" was 80.2 ± 15.3%. Only 5.3% of players reported no symptoms at baseline. The most common reported were: 'distracted easily' (72.5%), 'forgetful' (68.5%), and 'often tired' (62.6%). None of the participants achieved a perfect score for the SAC50. The majority of participants (89.7%) passed the tandem gait test with a time of 12.2 ± 1.7 seconds. Age, gender, and ethnicity were associated with NZRCA performance; albeit weakly. <br><br>CONCLUSION: This study provides normative reference values for high-school rugby players. These data will aid healthcare providers in their identification of suspected concussion in the absence of individualized baselines.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0269-9052
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2022.2033839
ID  - ref1
ER  -