Nearly half a million children 14 and younger visit an emergency room for traumatic brain injuries each year. Most of these injuries are classified as mild, but they still put children at risk for post-concussive symptoms. A study presented at the American Academy of Neurology meeting in April sought to better understand post-concussion symptoms, particularly headaches, in children.

The study included a total of 316 patients aged six to 21 years who visited a pediatric neurology clinic. Most of the patients, 55%, were aged 11-16 and most, also 55%, were females. Of the participants, 95% went to the doctor with post-concussion symptoms within 75 days of the injury. Headache and disturbed sleep were the most common symptoms, followed by sensitivity to light, sensitivity to sounds, and a feeling of pressure in the head. The headaches were described as pressure-like for 43% and 29%-33% described the headaches as aching, pounding, or throbbing.

The study focused on the primary symptom of headache. 42% of participants described the headaches as causing moderate levels of pain. 38% had daily intermittent headache; 22% had constant headaches. The rest had headaches a few days a week or a few days a month. Patients tended to treat their headaches with acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen (Advil). Headaches improved for 57% with rest and 45% said sleep reduced their headaches the most. Normal occurrences increased the headaches for many of the participants: reading was a problem for 47%, schoolwork worsened headaches for 50%, and light made the headaches worse for 47%.

(An unrelated study presented at the conference looked at the use of Botox to manage post-concussion headache. All of the five adults in the study had a headache reduction of at least 50%. While this isn't yet a treatment for children, the research is moving in an interesting direction.)

REFERENCES

Kuemmerle, K. (2015, April). Characteristics of Post Concussive Headaches in Children Presenting to the Neurology Clinic. Poster session presented at the meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, Washington, D.C.

Centers for Disease Control. Get the Stats on Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States. Retrieved April 29, 2015 from http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/pdf/BlueBook_factsheet-a.pdf.

Krel, R. Mirchandani, N. Wajnsztajn, F. Stoebe, C. & Spinner, W. (2015, April) Case Series: Putting a Stop to Post-Traumatic Headache with Onabotulinumtoxin A. Poster session presented at the meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, Washington, D.C.