Cognitive performance and perceived injury symptoms in school-aged children and adolescents after mild traumatic brain injury. A long-term follow-up study

Abstract

Background

Mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs) are common in childhood and adolescence, but their long-term effects remain poorly understood.

Objective

Examine cognitive performances and perceived injury symptoms, on average, six years after an mTBI in school-aged children and adolescents, and to evaluate longitudinal changes in performance and symptoms during the follow-up period.

Materials and method

Finnish children aged 7–15 years who were cared for mTBI at Turku University Hospital during 2010–2016, with brain imaging and neuropsychological assessment linked to the event available, were identified and targeted for follow-up assessment. We gathered cognitive performance and injury symptom data, as recorded at 1–3 months post-injury, retrospectively from the hospital patient records. Age-appropriate versions of Wechsler Intelligence Scale, Conners Continuous Performance Test II, PedsQL™ Multidimensional Fatigue Scale and semi-structured interview of symptoms were used as outcome measures at follow-up.

Results

Age-adjusted verbal performance scores of the participants deteriorated during follow-up, and were predicted by younger age at injury, male sex, and lower verbal performance scores at the original assessment. At follow-up 64.9 % reported one or more injury symptoms, with 48.6 % of those displaying symptoms at the original assessment continuing to report symptoms at follow-up. The most persistent injury symptoms were verbal difficulties, headache and fatigue.

Conclusions

The results stress the importance of identifying and monitoring children recovering slowly after a hospital-treated mTBI, as they might be at increased risk for long-lasting problems.