Detecting Cognitive Impairment After Concussion: Sensitivity of Change From Baseline and Normative Data Methods Using the CogSport/Axon Cognitive Test Battery

Concussion-related cognitive impairments are typically evaluated with repeated neuropsychological assessments where post-injury perfor-mances are comparedwith pre-injury baseline data (baselinemethod).Many cases of concussions, however, are evaluated in the absence of base-line data by comparing post-injury performances with normative data (normative method). This study aimed to compare the sensitivity and specificity of these two methods using the CogSport/Axon test battery. Normative data and reliable change indices were computed from a non-injured athlete sample (n 235). Test-retest data from non-injured (n 260) and recently concussed (n 29) athlete samples were then used to compare the two methods. The baseline method was found to be more sensitive than the normative method, and both methods had high specificity andoverall correct classification rates. This suggests thatwhile the normativemethod identifiesmost cases of recent concussions, the baseline method remains a more precise approach to assessing concussion-related cognitive impairments