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| Will This Affect My Childs SAT Score? Evaluation and Management of Pediatric Head Trauma. |
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by Jennifer L. Joiner MSN, RN CPNP-AC/PC - January 30, 2012
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Falls are the leading cause of minor traumatic brain injuries in children and 75% of those injuries are concussions! Concussion management continues to plague providers who see almost ½ a million cases in the ER each year and many more that show up to our offices everyday. Children may continue to be plagued by their symptoms for days, weeks even months after injury and look to their provider for up to the date knowledge on their care. For providers that face this each day with our avid children in sports here are a few RTP (Return to Play) guidelines that you shouldn’t forget for our adolescents over 10.
1. Never RTP on the same day as the injury occurred, no matter how elite the athlete performs!
2. RTP should occur in a step wise pattern that goes from no activity with complete rest to graduated full RTP.
3. Athletes should continue to progress every 24hrs as long as they are asymptomatic. If symptoms persist, they should drop back to the previous level until symptoms resolve.
4. RTP full rehab protocol should take about a week to complete if no symptoms return but each athlete is different and they must be clinically symptom free.
5. Recognize that children take longer than adults to become symptom free and need to have complete cognitive rest to avoid provocation from symptoms.
Jennifer is a dually certified pediatric Nurse Practitioner whose vast pediatric intensive care unit experience encompasses almost two decades. She has served as a pediatric transport nurse and patient care assistant while a staff nurse and was one of the original acute care PNPs. Jen has also served as a test item writer for the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board pilot exam and has subsequently added further test items. She has worked with almost every specialty of patients in the PICU including neurosurgical, trauma, congenital heart defect patients, transplant, respiratory and a vast array of medical patient populations. She has precepted numerous students in various pediatric Nurse Practitioner programs and assists in PICU nurse education including being a PALS instructor. Jen is currently the lead practitioner in a Level 1 trauma center in San Antonio, TX and an associate faculty member at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA).
Jennifer will be speaking at the upcoming DMGCME conferences in Las Vegas and Walt Disney World.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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