Retirement-from-sport considerations following pediatric sports-related concussion: case illustrations and institutional approach.
The decision to advise an athlete to retire from sports following sports-related concussion (SRC) remains a persistent challenge for physicians. In the absence of strong empirical evidence to support recommendations, clinical decision making must be individualized and should involve a multidisciplinary team of experts in concussion and traumatic brain injury. Although previous authors have advocated for a more conservative approach to these issues in child and adolescent athletes, there are few reports outlining considerations for this process among this unique population. Here, the authors use multiple case illustrations to discuss 3 subgroups of clinical considerations for sports retirement among pediatric SRC patients including the following: those with structural brain abnormalities identified on neuroimaging, those presenting with focal neurological deficits and abnormalities on physical examination, and those in whom the cumulative or prolonged effects of concussion are suspected or demonstrated. The authors' evolving multidisciplinary institutional approach to return-to-play and retirement decision making in pediatric SRC is also presented.
['Ellis|Michael J|MJ|', 'McDonald|Patrick J|PJ|', 'Cordingley|Dean|D|', 'Mansouri|Behzad|B|', 'Essig|Marco|M|', 'Ritchie|Lesley|L|']
D000293:Adolescent D001265:Athletic Injuries D001924:Brain Concussion D003657:Decision Making D006801:Humans D059906:Neuroimaging D012179:Retirement D013177:Sports
concussion retirement traumatic brain injury neuroimaging CTE = chronic traumatic encephalopathy PCS = postconcussion syndrome RTP = return to play SCI = spinal cord injury SCIWORA = SCI without radiographic abnormality SRC = sports-related concussion TBI = traumatic brain injury neuropsychology return to play