HEADS UP to School Sports: Athletes | HEADS UP | CDC Injury Center

HEADS UP to School Sports: Athletes | HEADS UP | CDC Injury Center







Traumatic Brain Injury Updates

Traumatic Brain Injuries, also known as TBIs, affect the lives of millions of Americans nationwide. Anyone can experience a TBI, but data suggest that children and older adults (age 65 and older) are at greatest risk. Many traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, are preventable, and you can help spread the word.

New Products

NEW CDC Posters: Do you know the leading cause of concussion in your sport? These posters spotlight:

• The leading causes of concussion in individual sports, and
• Steps to take to help lower the chance for concussion or other serious brain injury.

Check out the posters and share them with others.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain disease that results from changes in the brain. These changes can affect how a person thinks, feels, acts, and moves. Traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, and repeated hits to the head, called subconcussive head impacts, may lead to CTE. Learn more about CTE by downloading our fact sheets here.

UPDATED fact sheet on TBI in the United States for public health professionals provides an overview of data, common causes of TBI, and steps you can take to prevent a TBI. Download the fact sheet here.

Recent Publications

• Variations in Mechanisms of Injury for Children with Concussion – A new study from a collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) examined the mechanism of injury for concussion among more than 1,500 children ages 0-17 years seen for a medical evaluation in a large pediatric healthcare system. Results from this study show a broad range of activities that children engage in on a daily basis, which can result in concussions across childhood and adolescence.

• Unmet Rehabilitation Needs After Hospitalization for Traumatic Brain Injury – In this study, the authors describe unmet service needs of children hospitalized for traumatic brain injury (TBI) during the first 2 years after injury, and examine associations between child, family, and injury-related characteristics and unmet needs in 6 domains (physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, mental health services, educational services, and physiatry).

• Report to Congress on The Management of TBI in Children – details the impact a TBI can have on children and their families. This report also identifies gaps in care, provides opportunities for action to reduce the gaps through increased coordination and collaboration, and highlights key policy strategies to address the short- and long-term consequences of a TBI, which can last a lifetime.

• Incidence of Delayed Intracranial Hemorrhage in Older Patients After Blunt Head Trauma – Current guidelines conflict on the management of older adults who have blunt head trauma and are taking anticoagulant and antiplatelet medications. This is partially due to the limited data on patients who are taking these medications. This study found the incidence of delayed traumatic intracranial hemorrhage in older adults with head trauma after hospital discharge was rare, regardless of use of anticoagulant and antiplatelet medications.

• The Incidence of Traumatic Intracranial Hemorrhage in Head-Injured Older Adults Transported by EMS with and without Anticoagulant or Antiplatelet Use – Current Field Triage guidelines recommend Emergency Medical Services transport of head-injured patients using anticoagulants or antiplatelets to a higher-level trauma center based on a greater risk of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (tICH). This study compared the incidence of tICH in older adults, and found that anticoagulation, or antiplatelet, use was not an independent risk factor in tICH.

• NEW REPORT COMING SOON on One and Five Year Outcomes After Moderate-to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Requiring Inpatient Rehabilitation. This report will present national outcome data on those 16 and older who receive inpatient rehabilitation for a TBI. The estimates in the report show results from individuals injured between 2001 and 2007 in the TBI Model System National Database, which follows for a lifetime a large sample of people with moderate-to-severe TBI initially treated in inpatient rehabilitation. Check out the report on CDC’s TBI publications page on June 4th to learn more.

More Ways to Spread the Word

• Visit www.cdc.gov/HEADSUP to learn more. Access and download materials and take trainings.

• Do you have young athletes in your life? Introduce them to Rocket Blades! This action-packed game takes kids on a futuristic racing adventure—while teaching the ins and outs of concussion safety. Now available on iOS/Apple, Android, and Amazon. Download CDC's HEADS UP Rocket Blades game app.

• Download the HEADS UP Concussion and Helmet Safety app.

• Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to share the latest research, news, and updates about CDC’s brain injury research and programs.

HEADS UP to School Sports: Athletes | HEADS UP | CDC Injury Center