Children's Mercy Researchers Find Concussions In Children More Than Doubled From Ten Years Ago

KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study from researchers at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, MO, found diagnosis of pediatric concussion cases in emergency rooms has more than doubled over the past ten years – increasing by 58% between 2001 and 2010. The findings were presented Saturday at the Pediatric Academic Societies Annual Meeting in Boston.

"In our view, the higher rate of concussion diagnoses is a good sign that public education efforts have been working," said Jeffrey Colvin, MD, JD, lead author of the study and pediatrician at Children's Mercy. "More patients are finally seeking care from healthcare professionals for concussions, which can be even more serious when not properly diagnosed and treated."

Researchers looked at a 10-year cohort of patient information in the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) to evaluate the frequency of concussion diagnosis in emergency departments at 14 children's hospitals. PHIS is a national database that collects longitudinal, inpatient, emergency department, ambulatory surgery, and observational data from 42 not-for-profit, tertiary care pediatric hospitals, including Children's Mercy.

Concussions are caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain. Concussions can impact movement, balance, attention span, concentration, judgment, memory and reaction time. They can have long-term consequences if not caught and properly treated.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 1.7 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury annually, the vast majority of which are concussions. Each year, U.S. emergency departments treat an estimated 173,285 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, among children and adolescents. 

This research is just one of 48 studies presented at the 2012 Pediatric Academic Societies meeting by clinical investigators from Children's Mercy.

About Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics
Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, located in Kansas City, Mo., is one of the nation's top pediatric medical centers. The 314-bed hospital provides care for children from birth through the age of 18, and has been recognized by the American Nurses Credentialing Center with Magnet designation for excellence in nursing services, and ranked by U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Children's Hospitals." Its faculty of 600 pediatricians and researchers across more than 40 subspecialties are actively involved in clinical care, pediatric research, and educating the next generation of pediatric subspecialists. For more information about Children's Mercy and its research, visit childrensmercy.org or download our mobile phone app CMH4YOU for all phone types. For breaking news and videos, follow us on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. 

SOURCE Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics