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A H Feder, N Kegel, S R Eagle, V Fazio-Sumrok, A Trbovich, A P Kontos, A-19 Utility OF ImPACT Pediatric In Patients Aged 5–9 Following Concussion, Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, Volume 35, Issue 5, August 2020, Page 615, https://doi.org/10.1093/arclin/acaa036.19
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Abstract
Computerized neurocognitive testing has demonstrated sensitivity to the effects of concussion (Kontos et al., 2014). While there have been attempts to develop post-injury assessments for youth concussion, most lack compelling empirical support regarding psychometric properties. The purpose of this study was to expand upon preliminary support for the ImPACT Pediatric neurocognitive test battery (Newman et al., 2013) by examining the clinical utility of this measure in the evaluation of concussion in a pediatric population.
Children, aged 5–9 years, presented to an outpatient clinic within 30 days of concussion. Participants completed ImPACT Pediatric at all clinic visits. ImPACT Pediatric is a computerized neurocognitive test battery that assesses various aspects of memory and visual processing speed. Paired t-tests were used to compare ImPACT Pediatric subtest scores at initial visit and clinical clearance.
Participants (n = 63) were predominantly male (57.8%), aged 7.5 ± 1.0 years who presented to the clinic in 8.5 ± 5.9 days from injury and recovered in 34.1 ± 23.5 days. Design Rotation average time (−11.3%; p < 0.001), Stop and Go average correct time (−4.3%; p = 0.030), and Picture Touch immediate memory average time (−11.3%; p < 0.001) significantly improved from initial visit to clearance. Memory subtest scores did not significantly improve from initial visit to clearance.
Average time was significantly improved at the time of clinical clearance on the Design Rotation, Stop and Go, and Picture Match subtests. The findings indicate that ImPACT Pediatric timed subtests can detect changes between initial and clearance visits. Pediatric ImPACT can be a useful component of the comprehensive evaluation of concussion in younger children.
