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The following is a summary of “Long-term Neurodevelopmental Outcome of Children with Mild Traumatic Brain Injury,” published in the July 2024 issue of Pediatrics by Kooper et al.
This study investigates the long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes of pediatric mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), focusing on neurocognitive, behavioral, and academic functioning while also aiming to identify clinical risk factors associated with adverse outcomes. The research involved a follow-up of 89 children with mTBI, assessed approximately 3.6 years post-injury, and 89 age-, sex-, and socio-economic status-matched neurologically healthy controls. Comprehensive evaluations included intelligence testing, behavioral assessments, computerized neurocognitive tests, and longitudinal analysis of school performance data before and after the injury.
Results indicated that while children with mTBI scored within the average range on intelligence tests, they exhibited significant behavioral issues, including increased inattentiveness (p = 0.004, d = 0.47) and hyperactive-impulsivity (p = 0.01, d = 0.40), compared to their matched peers. Furthermore, these children demonstrated diminished neurocognitive performance, particularly in information processing stability (p = 0.003, d = -0.55) and visual working memory (p = 0.04, d = -0.39). Longitudinal academic performance revealed sustained deficits in technical reading abilities, with performance notably lower up to two years post-injury (p = 0.005, d = -0.42).
Despite extensive analysis, clinical risk factors did not predict long-term adverse outcomes in this cohort. These findings underscore the risk of enduring neurocognitive and behavioral challenges in children with mTBI, highlighting the necessity and difficulty of early identification and intervention for those at risk of prolonged developmental issues following such injuries.
Source: sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0887899424002625