Evaluating the predictive utility of the World Health Organization\u27s diagnostic criteria for postconcussion syndrome: A longitudinal and controlled study.

Postconcussion syndrome (PCS) is the term used to describe the cluster of affective, somatic, and cognitive symptoms commonly reported by individuals following head injury. The International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, 10th edition (ICD-10) provides a set of currently recommended diagnostic criteria for PCS. However, no study to date has investigated the incidence of ICD-10 self-reported PCS symptoms in individuals following mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI). The vast majority of individuals who have sustained a MTBI report essentially a full recovery within 3 months of injury; however, a small percentage of individuals report persisting symptom complaints beyond the typical time frame following MTBI. PCS symptom persistence beyond 3 months post-MTBI is considered a poor outcome and appears to be related to variety of non-neurological factors. The present study compared endorsement rates of the ICD-10 self-reported PCS symptoms in MTBI patients and healthy control subjects at 1 month and 3 months post-injury. Results showed that seven of the nine PCS symptoms differentiated the MTBI group from the control group at baseline, with only two symptoms differentiating the groups at the 3-month follow-up; symptom endorsements were higher in the MTBI group at both time periods of interest. Collectively, the PCS symptoms significantly classified the MTBI and control participants into their respective groups at 1-month post-injury, with an optimal positive test threshold of endorsement of five symptoms coinciding with a sensitivity and specificity of 73 and 61%, respectively. The ICD-10 PCS symptoms were not able to accurately classify the MTBI and control participants into their respective groups at 3 months post-injury.Dept. of Psychology. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis2005 .K37. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-03, page: 1514. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 2005