Think back to
September. The temperature was in the triple digits, your favorite football
team still was full of potential, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new
guideline for Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI).
In case you forgot, the guideline,
published Sept. 4, consists of
19 sets of clinical recommendations covering diagnosis, prognosis, and
management and treatment of mTBI (commonly referred to as concussion).
Well, just as
football season is starting to wind down, the CDC and American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) have developed free online training to give you practical
strategies to care for young patients with mTBI.
HEADS UP to Healthcare
Providers emphasizes
the five key recommendations outlined in the guidelines:
- Do
not routinely image pediatric patients to diagnose mTBI;
- Use
age-appropriate symptom scales to diagnose;
- Assess
for risk factors for prolonged recovery, including: a history of mTBI or other
brain injury, severe symptom presentation immediately after the injury, and
personal characteristics and family history;
- Provide
patients with instructions on returning to activity, customized to their
symptoms; and
- Counsel
patients to return to nonsports activities gradually after no more than two to
three days of rest.
If you complete
the training, you could earn two continuing education credits through AAP.
The CDC website contains other
information and resources on pediatric concussion, including a checklist on
diagnosis and management, sample patient discharge instructions, recovery tips
for parents, and a letter to schools for physicians or other health care
professionals to use.
In May of this
year, the Texas Medical Association House of Delegates approved official policy
on injuries and sport-related
concussion, which encourages physicians to contribute to and support
updates of pediatric guidelines, and directs the association to share the most recent
information with TMA members (hence, this article).
Last Updated On
November 28, 2018
Originally Published On
November 27, 2018