Pediatric concussions are common in the United States with 1.6 to 3.8 million occurring annually. In 2012, an estimated 329,290 children were treated in U.S. emergency departments for sports and recreation-related injuries that included a diagnosis of concussion or traumatic brain injury. Effects of concussions may lead to a range of psychological health problems and concentration deficits (impaired attention, inability to form visuospatial-associations, poor executive-function). Furthermore, there are many physicians who use medications such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, tricyclic-antidepressants, sleep inducers and stimulants for managing post-concussive symptoms. However, there are currently no guidelines in management of these symptoms which has led to significant variation in medical management.

One hundred-eleven patients who suffered a concussion within two weeks of injury were included in this study. Thirty-two of these patients had concentration deficits based on our study questionnaire, nine patients met ADHD inattentive subtype criteria based on the Vanderbilt parental-assessment. Of those nine patients, only one met ADHD criteria based on the Vanderbilt teacher-assessment.