Concussions can result in a constellation of symptoms that are marked by their heterogeneity in presentation.
2 Somatic complaints include headache, dizziness, photophobia, phonophobia, nausea, and vomiting. Emotionally, patients report irritability, sadness, anxiety, or depression. Cognitive features include difficulty concentrating, feeling in a “fog,” and amnesia.
2 Additionally, sleep disturbances such as insomnia or somnolence are common.
2 Loss of consciousness, once considered a hallmark of concussion, is now found to be featured in less than 14% of cases.
7 Certain factors, such as history of concussion, female gender, younger age, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, psychiatric comorbidity, and prolonged loss of consciousness are associated with prolonged recovery.
8 The sports concussion assessment tool, produced at the international conference on concussion in sport, is sensitive and specific for concussion identification.
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