Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion Research

Over the past several decades, researchers and clinicians caring for children with traumatic brain injury have learned that injuries to the developing brain cannot be understood or treated in the same manner as those occurring in adulthood. A separate knowledge base encompassing injury severity, developmental issues, and the role of the family is required for pediatric TBI.

Faculty members are examining how injury severity affects outcomes and are helping to identify which children with TBI may be at most risk for continued problems.

Home to the only team in the country collecting sports injury surveillance data in a national sample of high school athletes, Nationwide Children’s Hospital also collects novel data regarding sport-related concussions.

Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion Research Faculty

R. Dawn Comstock, PhD
Keith O. Yeates, PhD

Latest Findings in Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion Research

U.S. Estimates of Hospitalized Children with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: Implications for Clinical Trials

Children with severe TBI are infrequent at any one hospital in the United States, and few hospitals treat large numbers of children with severe TBI. To effectively plan trials of therapies for severe TBI, much attention has to be paid to selecting the right types of centers to maximize enrollment efficiency.

Access an abstract of this study: U.S. estimates of hospitalized children with severe traumatic brain injury: implications for clinical trials. Pediatrics. 2012 Jan;129(1):e24-30.

Post-Concussive Symptoms May Impact Daily Functioning

This study suggests that many children with mild traumatic brain injury show reliable increases in post-concussive symptoms that are associated with significant functional impairment in their daily lives.

Access an abstract of this study: Reliable Change in Postconcussive Symptoms and Its Functional Consequences Among Children With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2012 Mar 5. [Epub ahead of print]

New Versus Recurrent Sports Concussions Among High School Athletes

For this study, sports-related injury and exposure data were collected for nine sports from 2005 to 2010 from 100 nationally representative US high schools.  Findings showed that   athletes sustaining recurrent concussions had longer symptom resolution times, were kept out of play longer and reported loss of consciousness more frequently than athletes sustaining new concussions.

Access an abstract of this study: The epidemiology of new versus recurrent sports concussions among high school athletes, 2005-2010. Br J Sports Med. 2011 Dec 5. [Epub ahead of print]

Quality of Life in Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and its Relationship to Postconcussive Symptoms

Mild traumatic brain injury and injury-related outcomes such as postconcussive symptoms may influence health-related quality of life.  This study found that children with higher postconcussive symptoms at the initial assessment had lower health-related quality of life scores at later time points. Effective management of postconcussive symptoms may be associated with improvements in health-related quality of life following pediatric mild traumatic brain injury.

Access an abstract of this study: Quality of Life in Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and its Relationship to Postconcussive Symptoms. J Pediatr Psychol. 2011 Oct 12. [Epub ahead of print] 

Effect on Behavior Problems of Teen Online Problem-Solving for Adolescent Traumatic Brain Injury

This study reports the results of a randomized clinical trial of teen online problem-solving (TOPS) meant to improve behavioral outcomes of adolescents with traumatic brain injury. Our findings suggest that TOPS contributes to improvements in parent-teen conflict generally and parent and self-reported teen behavior problems for certain subsets of participants.

Access an abstract of this study: Effect on behavior problems of teen online problem-solving for adolescent traumatic brain injury. Pediatrics. 2011 Oct;128(4):e947-53.

Current Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion Research Grants

Social Outcomes in Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury, National Institutes of Health (Keith Yeates)

Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Consortium: Hypothermia, St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center and Barrow Neurological Institute (Eric Lloyd)

Progesterone for Traumatic Brain Injury in Children: Planning a Clinical Trial, University of Michigan (Bema Bonsu)

Concussion Surveillance Among a Large National Sample of Middle School Football Players: Middle School RIO, Anonymous (R. Dawn Comstock)

Implementation of the PECARN Traumatic Brain Injury Prediction Rules Using Computerized Clinical Decision Support: An Interrupted Time Series Trial, Columbia University (Jeffrey Hoffman)

Ohio School re-Entry and Transition Program (STEP) for Children with TBI, Ohio Department of Safety Emergency Medical Services (Keith Yeates)

Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) for Traumatic Brain Injury Interventions in Children, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (Keith Yeates, co-investigator and subcontract principal investigator)

Traumatic Brain Injury Sports, Evaluation, and Surveillance Project, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Dawn Comstock)

Of Note in Traumatic Brain Injury/Concussion Research

Dr. Yeates Receives Arthur Benton Award

Keith O. Yeates, PhD, Director of the Center for Biobehavioral Health, is the latest recipient of the Arthur Benton Award from the International Neuropsychological Society (INS).

The Arthur Benton Award was established by the INS Board in 1982 and is awarded to a mid-career level researcher 11-23 years after the completion of their PhD. The award is based on the individual’s scope of work including contribution to neuropsychological science, an established and accelerating career path, international reputation, majority of publications in peer reviewed journals, and a constant relationship with INS.