Neuroimaging Findings Generally Nondiagnostic in Children with Sports-related Concussions

An experimental study on the use of neuroimaging in children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury revealed that a vast majority of scans failed to detect any sign of injury, needlessly exposing the patient to radiation without aiding diagnosis or treatment. Researchers from the Canada North Concussion Network in Manitoba reported in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics that in records of over 151 young patients, 78 percent of CT scan results were inconclusive even when clinicians finally diagnosed a concussion or similar trauma. This draws into question the casual use of CT scanning in developing patients, except for use in emergency settings, when deeper imaging could be critical. As the lead researcher explained, “Methodologically, this study does not tell us which patients are more likely to demonstrate traumatic abnormalities on clinical neuroimaging, including magnetic resonance imaging. This question will be addressed by a prospective clinical study that is currently underway at our institution.” To learn more about this study, click here.