CHOP Research Plays Major Role in New International Concussion Guidelines

Researchers from the Minds Matter Concussion Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have extensively researched the use of visio-vestibular examinations (VVEs) to improve concussion diagnosis in care. Now, that research is at the heart of new best practice recommendations made by a panel of more than 100 leading concussion experts around the world.

The international Concussion in Sport Group released their latest set of recommendations for caring for athletes of all ages, the first time new recommendations have been made in five years. The Sports Concussion Office Assessment Tool, or SCOAT, is an evaluation tool designed for providers to use in their assessment and treatment of concussions. The pediatric portion of these recommendations, Child-SCOAT-6, specifically cites the research on VVEs led by Daniel Corwin, MD, Emergency Department Lead and Investigator of the Minds Matter Concussion Program, and Christina Master, MD, a sports medicine specialist and Clinical Director of Minds Matter, who are both co-authors on the revised tool.

The VVE serves important roles in concussion diagnosis, prognosis, and assessment of functional status. Because the VVE is an easy-to-learn, low-cost assessment tool, in addition to augmenting traditional symptom scales as an objective physiologic marker of injury, the Minds Matter team believes it also has an important role in reducing health care disparities.

You can learn more about these new recommendations and tools for evaluating concussions by reading the official consensus statement from the Concussion in Sport Group as well as our Research in Action and Cornerstone blogs.