(Research Hub Theater) Pediatric Concussions in Contact Sports: A 10-year Analysis of Mechanisms and Associated Symptoms

Background and/or Objectives: The objective of this study is to describe the characteristics, mechanisms of injury, and associated symptoms of pediatric patients diagnosed with concussions (ages 5-18) from contact sports from 2012-2021.

Design: Descriptive Epidemiology Study

Setting: National Electronic Injury Surveillance System Emergency Departments

Participants: 12,602 youth athletes diagnosed with concussions from contact sports.

Interventions: not applicable.

Main Outcome Measures: Rates of concussions and frequency of characteristics, mechanisms of injury, and associated symptoms.

Results: There were 12,602 concussions with a national estimate of 283,415. The majority of patients were male, 78.5%, with a mean age of 13.5 years old. From 2012-2019 there were no significant differences in the number of concussions, while 2020 and 2021 saw a significantly lower number of concussions. Football had the highest frequency of concussions (45.27%), followed by soccer and basketball. The most common mechanism of injury in pediatric concussions was player-to-player contact (52%) in football, lacrosse, rugby, and soccer. Head-to-ground was the next most common with hockey and basketball having the largest proportion. The majority of sports concussions were treated as outpatients (96.9%) and loss of consciousness was reported in 2273 (18%) of total cases . Associated symptoms were reported in 1927 patients with the most common symptoms of headache/head pain in 793 (41.2%) followed by dizziness in 503 (26.1%) patients.

Conclusions: Concussions are a common injury among youth athletes, especially among football players. A significant decrease in concussions from 2020-2021 may be attributed to social restrictions that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Player-to-player contact and head-to-ground were the most common mechanism of injury, and headache/head pain and dizziness were the most common associated symptoms. Athletes, coaches, and physicians aware of the common symptoms and mechanisms can better develop preventative strategies and improve patient care for concussions in contact sports.