Children’s Hospital At Palms West Now Offering Advanced Concussion Treatment

Children’s Hospital At Palms West Now Offering Advanced Concussion Treatment

Emergency room visits for concussions and other traumatic brain injuries in children ages eight to 19 topped 200,000 nationwide last year. As these statistics have more than doubled in the last decade, parents can be reassured that the Children’s Hospital at Palms West is now prepared to quickly evaluate and provide Advanced Concussion Treatment (ACT) for sports-related injuries, falls or accidents.

“When we were kids, there wasn’t really a big focus on it, but now with enhanced awareness of concussion, return-to-play protocols, and just the fact that being in Wellington with such a high amount of sports activities, people are becoming aware,” said Krista Hawkinson, director of emergency services at the Children’s Hospital at Palms West. “There’s a lot of activity here that can contribute to increased concussions due to the fact that we are in a perpetual state of summer year-round.”

Children who sustain a concussion almost always recover completely in a relatively short period of time. “Young athletes — some as young as five or six — their brains are still developing. We want to ensure that, first of all, we are providing testing for any children who are playing sports in Palm Beach County,” Director of Pediatric Services Caren Bock explained.

The best way to achieve a good outcome from an incident is to ensure that a child is evaluated and assessed by experts with special training in brain injuries.

“That’s so important to us because their brain is developing. To have continuous baselines, at least once a year or every two years, is so helpful if they do feel the effects of a concussion,” Bock said. “With children’s smaller heads, there could be more problems than the parents or the physicians can know from observation alone. As children do naturally bounce back quickly, it’s helpful to have a comparison of a baseline, over time, so you can compare any injuries throughout their childhood.”

Concussion symptoms to look for include: temporary loss of consciousness, balance problems with unsteady walking, dizziness or “seeing stars,” double or fuzzy vision, confusion or feeling “foggy,” slurred speech, ringing in the ears, sensitivity to light or sound, headache or a feeling of pressure in the head, nausea or vomiting, memory problems, irritability, crankiness or fatigue.

Left untreated, concussions can lead to severe brain injury, and while the majority of young athletes recover from concussions, athletes who are not fully recovered from an initial concussion are at higher risk for receiving a second. When a child has a second concussion before the first is fully recovered, significant cognitive and behavioral changes can occur.

This can leave the child at risk for Second Impact Syndrome, a rare condition with often catastrophic results. Second Impact Syndrome can result from even a mild concussion that occurs days or weeks after the initial one.

Many concussions go unrecognized. It has been estimated that more than half of the concussions occurring at the adolescent and high-school level are never recognized or diagnosed by the team coach, trainer or physician. It is extremely important that these injuries are recognized and treated immediately.

“The Advanced Concussion Treatment program has been in the planning stages for a year now,” Bock explained. “We wanted to make sure that it was a comprehensive program, so we worked with teams from all the disciplines to ensure that we are providing education to patients and families in the field about sports-related injuries. We have an outpatient center that residents can come to as well.

Collaborating with local schools and recreational sports teams, Palms West Hospital is providing ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) baseline assessments for athletes, prior to suffering a concussion. “This is the national gold standard for concussion screening,” Hawkinson said.

“The National Football League uses this baseline test,” Bock added. “The child sits at a computer and what it is looking at is neurocognitive.”

Student athletes are given these computerized neurocognitive tests before the sports season begins, showing their normal, healthy level of cognitive function. Memory, information processing and reaction time are all objectively measured.

If the athlete sustains a concussion, then neurocognitive tests are given again, which will help to determine the impact of the concussion and provide important information about managing the concussion. “We can see if there’s any changes after a concussion or if it’s just a small injury,” Bock said.

This process allows each athlete to have an individual plan for their safe return to playing sports.

“What they do is provide baseline testing to the child for their cognitive abilities,” Hawkinson said. “This allows us to see where we need to target their treatment plan, and physical therapy is based upon that screening tool.”

With the fall sports season just around the corner, it’s important for parents to learn about the signs of a concussion and get a baseline concussion test done for their young athletes. In some areas, the $25 assessment is mandatory.

If you think your loved one has had or is suffering from a concussion, or for information on pre-injury preparations for an objective baseline, visit the Children’s Hospital at Palms West or call (561) 345-7009. Visit www.palmswesthospital.com to learn more.

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