Characterizing Symptoms Before and Following Concussion in Professional Hockey

Objective: Examine SCAT5 baseline and acute symptom subscales in professional hockey players. Design: Longitudinal case–control. Setting: Preseason medical evaluations and suspected concussion evaluations. Participants: NHL/AHL players were given the NHL-modified SCAT5 before the 2018-2019 season (n = 1924). During the season, English-speaking players evaluated within 1 day of injury and diagnosed with concussion (n = 140) were compared with players evaluated for possible concussion, but not given a concussion diagnosis (n = 174). Independent Variables: Concussion diagnosis and demographic characteristics. Main Outcome Measures: Postconcussion Symptoms Scale (PCSS) items were subdivided into affective/emotional, cognitive, somatic/physical, sleep, and headache subscales. Results: Cognitive (13%), somatic/physical (10%), sleep (26%), affective (18%), and headache (6%) symptoms were reported by players at baseline. Concussed players reported more acute symptoms than active controls on each of the subscales (all P's
Source: Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine - Category: Sports Medicine Tags: Original Research Source Type: research