The Impact of Postconcussion Symptoms in CDU/ED Patients after mTBI
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the Impact of Postconcussion Symptoms in Adult Patients Admitted to the Clinical Decisions Unit or Emergency Department following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
IRAS ID
235527
Contact name
Andrew Webster
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 4 days
Research summary
Each year around 700,000 to 940,000 adults attend hospitals in England and Wales with a recent head injury, the leading cause of mortality and morbidity among people aged 1-40 years in the UK. Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) accounts for up to 80% of cases, and most of these patients do not require hospital admission and crucially are not subject to routine follow-up.
While the vast majority, approximately 75-85%, of patients with mTBI recover completely with little or no intervention, a significant minority progress to develop Persistent Postconcussion Symptoms (PPCS) beyond three months of the initial trauma. PPCS encompass a range of complex and poorly understood symptoms which have huge implications on patient health outcomes and quality of life.
According to the Cochrane Collaboration, ‘there are currently no clinical measurements that are known to predict which individuals will experience poor outcomes following mTBI’. Further, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has highlighted the critical need for research to identify early predictors for long-term sequelae following mTBI since 2007, in order to facilitate the development of new interventions and improved resource allocation.
This investigation hopes to shine light on this critical and often overlooked area. Through the involvement of patients at the Leeds General Infirmary Clinical Decisions Unit and Emergency Department, the primary objective of this study is to determine the frequency of postconcussion symptoms following mTBI. An additional secondary objective is to identify predictor variables for PPCS following mTBI, with a goal to inform more refined, personalised early intervention and follow-up.
In addition to completing a simple Participant Data Form at the time of consent, to enable us to achieve our objectives participants will complete two further questionnaires, in the form of the widely respected Rivermead Post Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire, at one month and three months post-injury.
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
18/WA/0043
Date of REC Opinion
15 Feb 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion