How accurate are current tools to test for concussion?

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2024-06-12 01:00

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Whether an athlete reports symptoms is the most useful factor in assessing if they have a concussion, according to international research on the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool-5 (SCAT5), a version of the concussion test used across Australian sports including in the AFL and NRL. The SCAT5 includes subjectively rating the symptoms an athlete feels after a head knock, as well as a series of objective tests to measure orientation, concentration and memory that ideally can be compared to a baseline test the athlete does while healthy. The researchers looked at baseline and post-injury SCAT5 tests in almost 100 US athletes and compared them to healthy athletes. They say reported symptoms was the most accurate indicator of a concussion, and while a 10-word recall test can help identify concussed athletes, some concussed athletes still do just as well on the test as their baseline. According to the researchers, other objective tests showed little accuracy, however, they say the test is overall still useful as the worse an athlete scores compared to their baseline, the more likely they are to be concussed.