Recognition and Detection of Concussion in the Community: Implications for Primary Care in the UK

Abstract

Concussion, a subset of traumatic brain injury, is prevalent in both adults and children and can result in a range of short-term and long-term symptoms that can significantly impair an individual's overall quality of life. Lifestyle factors, such as engaging in high-impact sports may increase the likelihood of sustaining a concussion. Recently, there has been a coordinated effort to raise awareness and educate the general public about the recognition, time-critical interventions, and the associated risks. In the United Kingdom (UK), new grassroots concussion guidance advocates the importance of suspected concussions being diagnosed by a healthcare professional. This will likely lead to an influx of patients presenting to primary care as well as to other medical practitioners, such as those in accident and emergency departments. This review examines and highlights the limitations of the current diagnostic tools available to clinicians in the community and primary care settings. It compares how UK concussion practice relates to concussion practice in the United States (US) and critiques their limitations. It proposes a standardised, computer-integrated tool tailored to the time constraints of UK primary care, pending validation and patient outcome data, to improve diagnostic consistency and efficiency.

Keywords: concussion; general practice; primary care.