Concussions in Children Are Greatly Underestimated, Study Reveals

Concussion is found to be common in athletes, whether they play professionally or just for recreation. This can also be said about children. Since they are usually actively horsing around with friend, children, the risk of having concussion is high. However, in a new report, it was revealed that the United States may be underestimating the number and the severity of pediatric concussions of children that are likely to bump their heads more than reported.

According to TechTimes, researchers The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) went through electronic health data from CHOP and analyzed more than 8,000 diagnosed cases of concussion over the past four years.

They found that patients up to age 17, 82 percent received their initial diagnosis of having a concussion at a pediatrician's office or another primary care area, and only 12 percent had theirs at the emergency department of a hospital. There were also 5 percent who had their diagnosis at specialty care locations such as sports medicine and trauma centers.

In an article by Medical Daily, Dr. Kristy Arbogast, lead author of the research and a codirector of CHOP's Center for Injury Research and Prevention, said in a statement "We learned two really important things about pediatric concussion and health care practices." She continued saying, "First, four in five of this diverse group of children were diagnosed at a primary care practice - not the emergency department. Second, one-third of the children were under age 12, and should have represented an important part of the concussion population that is missed by existing surveillance systems that focus on high school athletes."

While the research period was going on, there was a rise in children visiting primary care by 13 percent. On the other hand, emergency department visits significantly decreased by 16 percent.

Study co-author Dr. Christina Master said that the results will help direct the intended healthcare training and resources to pediatricians and other primary care givers. This could be well-positioned to diagnose and then treat most concussions in this age group. Treatment for concussion mostly depends on the time it is detected which will give primary care doctors an advantage. If they are able to see the patients sooner, they can start treatment earlier than specialized caregivers.

In most cases of concussions, rest is encouraged before a supervised return to regular routine is recommended. If the symptoms are observed longer than the ideal two to three weeks, it could be time the patient is referred to a specialist.

Pediatric sports medicine specialist Alex Diamond from Vanderbilt University agreed in the belief that pediatricians are best for the job, especially at the first signs of the injury. Unless it's an emergency, parents should make an appointment with their pedia first, he urged.

"They know the kid at baseline and they know the family," he told ABC News. He also called for parents to trust their instinct about treatment for a possible case of concussion in their children. Medical help should be sought, too, if the child lost consciousness, suffered a seizure, or had "headache plus" - meaning accompanied by vomiting, sickness in the stomach, or an issue with balance.