Validity of Baseline Concussion Tests Questioned
SATURDAY, June 11 (HealthDay News) — Baseline concussion tests
for athletes may do more harm than good in some cases, an expert
warns.
Baseline concussion testing provides a baseline score of an athlete’s
cognitive abilities, such as reaction time, working memory and attention
span. Athletes who suffer a concussion retake the test, and if there is a
large decrease in the score, they are typically banned from play until
their score improves.
But the tests, which are mandatory for hundreds of thousands of amateur
and professional athletes in the United States, have a high “false
negative” rate, according to Christopher Randolph, a neuropsychologist at
Loyola University Health System.
A false negative result means the test shows an athlete has recovered
from a concussion when they’re actually still experiencing effects from
the injury. As a result, an athlete might be allowed to return to play
before it’s safe.
Randolph analyzed the scientific literature and could not find a
prospective, controlled study of the current version of the most common
baseline concussion test, called ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion
Assessment and Cognitive Testing). Athletes take the 20-minute test on a
computer.
“There is no evidence to suggest that the use of baseline testing
alters any risk from sport-related concussion, nor is there even a good
rationale as to how such tests might influence outcome,” Randolph wrote in
an article published in a recent issue of the journal Current Sports
Medicine Reports.
Instead of relying on baseline concussion tests, medical staff on
sports teams “may be better advised to rely upon their own clinical
judgment, in conjunction with a validated symptom checklist, in making
return-to-play decisions,” for athletes who have suffered a concussion,
Randolph suggested.
More information
The American Association of Neurological Surgeons has more about concussion.