Comparison of baseline ImPACT performance in amateur motocross riders to football and basketball athletes

Test-retest reliability of the neurotracker compared to the impact test for the management of mild traumatic brain injuries during two consecutive university sport seasons

INTRODUCTION

Neurocognitive assessment tools such as the Neurotracker and ImPACT have been proposed to optimize sports-related mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) management. Baseline testing is recommended with such assessments to individualize monitoring of athletes' remission. While the ideal timeframe between baseline updates has been studied for the ImPACT, these data are missing for the Neurotracker.

OBJECTIVE

The current study aimed to compare the test-retest reliability of the ImPACT and Neurotracker for two consecutive seasons in university athletes participating in sports at risk for mTBI.

METHODS

At the start of two consecutive seasons, 30 athletes with no recent history of mTBI completed a baseline assessment including the Neurotracker and the ImPACT. The test-retest reliability of the results was analyzed by considering intra-class correlation (ICC), Becker's standardized mean difference (d_B) and Bland-Altman' plot of each outcome.

RESULTS

The Neurotracker and the Visual Motor Speed composite score of the ImPAC were the only outcomes with significative ICCs and acceptable d_B between the two seasons. Neurotracker was the only outcome with a significative bias (+0.179).

CONCLUSION

Our research suggests that the Neurotracker has an acceptable level of test-retest reliability after one year in comparison to the ImPACT.

Multimodal Assessment of Sport-Related Concussion

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to determine which assessments best identify athletes with sport-related concussion (SRC) from healthy controls in the acute/early subacute phase (within 10 days of SRC) of injury.

DESIGN

Prospective, cohort study.

SETTING

Specialty concussion clinic.

PARTICIPANTS

Sixty-four athletes with SRC (52% male) and 59 matched (age and sex), healthy controls (56% male) aged 12 to 20 years (Mean [M] = 15.07, Standard Deviation [SD] = 2.23).

ASSESSMENT

Participants completed symptom, cognitive, vestibular/oculomotor, near point of convergence (NPC), and balance assessments.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Univariate analyses were conducted to compare athletes with SRC to healthy controls across all assessments. Assessments that significantly differed between the SRC group and healthy controls were used as predictors in an enter method logistic regression (LR) model and subsequent forward stepwise LR.

RESULTS

Results of LR analyses indicated that symptom inventory and symptom provocation on vestibular/oculomotor assessments significantly predicted athletes with SRC versus controls. The forward stepwise LR accurately classified 84.6% of the overall sample (78.3% of athletes with SRC and 91.2% of controls were accurately predicted) and accounted for 60.5% of the variance in predicting athletes with SRC versus controls. Total symptom inventory score (P = 0.003) and vestibular/oculomotor symptom provocation (P < 0.01) were the most sensitive and specific measures in a comprehensive, multimodal assessment for distinguishing athletes with SRC from healthy controls within 10 days of injury.

CONCLUSIONS

Elements within a multimodal evaluation that are the most robust at discriminating athletes with SRC from healthy controls in the acute/early subacute phase of injury include symptom report and provocation of symptoms on vestibular/oculomotor assessment. These assessments should be considered in conjunction with other objective assessments (ie, NPC measurement and cognitive testing) as part of a comprehensive evaluation of SRC.

Research Evaluating Sports ConcUssion Events-Rapid Assessment of Concussion and Evidence for Return (RESCUE-RACER): a two-year longitudinal observational study of concussion in motorsport

INTRODUCTION

Concussion is a clinical diagnosis, based on self-reported patient symptoms supported by clinical assessments across many domains including postural control, ocular/vestibular dysfunction, and neurocognition. Concussion incidence may be rising in motorsport which, combined with unresolved challenges to accurate diagnosis and lack of guidance on the optimal return-to-race timeframe, creates a difficult environment for healthcare practitioners.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Research Evaluating Sports ConcUssion Events-Rapid Assessment of Concussion and Evidence for Return (RESCUE-RACER) evaluates motorsports competitors at baseline (Competitor Assessment at Baseline; Ocular, Neuroscientific (CArBON) study) and post-injury (Concussion Assessment and Return to motorSport (CARS) study), including longitudinal data. CArBON collects pre-injury neuroscientific data; CARS repeats the CArBON battery sequentially during recovery for competitors involved in a potentially concussive event. As its primary outcome, RESCUE-RACER will develop the evidence base for an accurate trackside diagnostic tool. Baseline objective clinical scoring (Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-5th edition (SCAT5)) and neurocognitive data (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT)) will be assessed for specificity to motorsport and relationship to existing examinations. Changes to SCAT5 and ocular, vestibular, and reaction time function (Dx 100) will be estimated by the reliability change index as a practical tool for trackside diagnosis. Neuropsychological (Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB)) assessments, brain MRI (7 Tesla) and salivary biomarkers will be compared with the new tool to establish utility in diagnosing and monitoring concussive injuries.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

Ethical approval was received from East of England-Cambridge Central Research Ethics Committee (18/EE/0141). Participants will be notified of study outcomes via publications (to administrators) and summary reports (funder communications). Ideally, all publications will be open access.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

February 2019 nationally (Central Portfolio Management System 38259) and internationally (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03844282).

The Influence of Self-Reported Tobacco Use on Baseline Concussion Assessments

INTRODUCTION

Baseline symptom, balance, and neurocognitive scores have become an integral piece of the concussion management process. Factors such as sleep, learning disorders, fitness level, and sex have been linked to differences in performance on baseline assessments; however, it is unclear how tobacco use may affect these scores. The objective of this study was to compare baseline concussion assessment scores between service academy cadets who use and do not use tobacco.

METHODS

Cadets completed a standard battery of concussion baseline assessments per standard of care and were classified into two groups: tobacco users (n = 1,232) and nonusers (n = 5,922). Dependent variables included scores on the Balance Error Scoring System, Standardized Assessment of Concussion, Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT), Brief Symptom Inventory-18, and Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS). Separate Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to compare all baseline assessment scores between groups with an adjusted P-value < 0.004.

RESULTS

Cadets that used tobacco performed significantly worse on the impulse control (P < 0.001) section of the ImPACT, reported greater ImPACT symptom severity scores (P < 0.001), and were more likely to take risks as measured by the BSSS (P < 0.001). No differences were detected for Balance Error Scoring System, Standardized Assessment of Concussion, Brief Symptom Inventory-18, and Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-3 symptom scores, verbal memory, visual memory, visual-motor speed, or reaction time on the ImPACT (P > 0.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Tobacco users performed significantly worse than tobacco nonusers on the impulse control section of the ImPACT, reported greater symptom severity scores on the ImPACT, and were more likely to take risks as measured by the BSSS. Despite statistical significance, these results should be interpreted with caution, as the overall effect sizes were very small. Future research should examine the influence of tobacco use on recovery post-concussion.