A team of researchers are recommending that concussions should be called mild traumatic brain injuries so that this type of condition is taken more seriously. The team is concerned that many people don’t think of a concussion as an injury to the brain.
The researchers looked at the medical records of 300 children with traumatic brain injuries who were treated at McMaster Children’s Hospital in Canada. 102 of them were diagnosed with having a concussion. 385 of the kids diagnosed with a concussion actually had a mild TBI, while 24% in fact had a serious or moderate TBI.
According to Professor Carol DeMatteo of the CanChild Centre for Childhood Disability Research at McMaster University, in each case involving a child diagnosed with a concussion, the patient and their parents did not think the injury was serious. DeMatteo says this can be a problem.
According to the study’s findings, kids that were diagnosed with having concussion diagnosis spent less time in the hospital than children who were diagnosed with a mild brain injury. They also went back to school and resumed playing sports sooner than kids diagnosed with more serious brain injuries.
DeMatteo notes that if a child isn’t given enough time to recover, more concussions may occur and the risk of permanent brain damage increases.
Brain Injuries to Children
Brain injury is one of the most common causes of death and disability to young children. If your son or daughter suffers an injury to the head, it is important that you get medical help right away. What may appear to be a mild injury to the head may actually be a brain injury.
If your child sustained a TBI in a car crash, fall accident on another person’s property, or another kind of injury accident, you may have grounds for filing a Maryland traumatic brain injury lawsuit involving injuries to minors.
Concussion needs a new name, researchers say, Globe Life, January 17, 2010
Children and Traumatic Brain Injury, TBI Resource Guide, Centre for Neuro Skills
Related Web Resources:
Concussion, Empowered Doctor
McMaster Children’s Hospital
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