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Researchers find need for more concussion education
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While general pediatricians and pediatric emergency physicians value their role in concussion management, their self-reported knowledge, practices and attitudes point to the need for improved concussion-specific training and infrastructure to support optimal patient care, according to a study from researchers at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
“We have seen concussion visits within our emergency department, primary care and specialty care network at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) quadruple since 2009 to a current total of more than 6,700 each year,” Mark Zonfrillo, MD, MSCE, stated in a press release. “The emergency department and primary care settings often serve as the entry point of care for children with a suspected concussion, and we know that early diagnosis and treatment of concussion can lead to faster, more complete recovery.”
The researchers questioned 276 emergency medicine and primary care providers (PCPs) from the same pediatric care network and received 145 responses. Almost 91% of providers cared for at least one patient with a concussion within the previous 3 months, 16% expressed they were inadequately trained to educate others about concussions, 15% said they did not have time to educate others, 96% expressed the need for a concussion provider decision support tool and 100% agreed a decision support tool would help them.
“We adapted state-of-the-science protocols used by concussion specialists into an electronic interactive form that is part of the patient’s medical record,” Zonfrillo said. “This form, which is specific to concussion, provides a guide for the primary care provider for the systematic evaluation of concussion patients, including potential symptoms and physical exam findings.”
Reference:
Zonfrillo M. Pediatrics. 2012;doi: 10.1542/peds.2012.1431.
