Abstract

VILLEMURE, René; NOLIN, Pete  and  SAGE, Natalie Le. Prediction of self-reported persistent symptoms after a mild traumatic brain injury. Neuropsicologia Latinoamericana [online]. 2010, vol.2, n.3, pp. 48-59. ISSN 2075-9479.

To predict the risk of persistent symptoms three months after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) based on the initially reported symptoms at the first week with two methods of evaluation. The sample consisted of 354 participants adults contacted by telephone at the first week and the third month post-mTBI. Participants first had to report their symptoms via a free-report (free-report method) and, subsequently, with a checklist questionnaire (checklist method - Rivermead Post Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire). Participants who reported three or more symptoms at the first week post-mTBI, both using the free-report method and the checklist method, were more likely to have persistent symptoms at three months. Participants who had persistent symptoms at three months post-mTBI reported at the first week more symptoms when using the checklist method than the free-report method. In a clinical perspective, reporting three or more symptoms during the first week post-mTBI could be an early prognostic indicator of increased risk of persistent symptoms, particularly when the evaluation is based on a checklist questionnaire.

Keywords : Mild traumatic brain injury; Self-reported symptoms; Postconcussional syndrome; Checklist.

        · abstract in Spanish | French | Portuguese     · text in French     · French ( pdf )