| dc.description.abstract | Introduction: Identifying and monitoring the resolution of cognitive impairment following sport-related concussion and providing objective information for clinical return-to-play decisions is crucial, particularly for contact sports. Many concussion symptoms do not appear immediately, and the sports person would need to be monitored and re-tested over time, however most sport teams do not have the luxury of readily available medical staff. Therefore, this study presents the process of developing a novel web-based neuropsychological test battery App for concussion, and the subsequent determination of sensitivity, reliability, and repeatability as a first step in validity and reliability testing.
Subjects and design: Neuropsychological baseline data was collected on 11 healthy male volunteers (mean age = 22 ± 2.5 years). Repeat data was collected pre- and post-fatiguing exercise for sensitivity, and further tests for diurnal variation included three daily repeat assessments (morning: 0700 ± 2 h; afternoon; 1400 ± 2 h; evening: 1900 ± 2 h) over a five-day period.
Measurements: The administration of the Concussion Assessment Web-App tool (CAWA) included six tests as a part of a test battery. These included concussion red flag questions, a self-report inventory of neuropsychological symptoms; The Concussion Symptom Inventory (CSI), as well as a series of four cognitive sub-tests: Simple Reaction Time, Complex Reaction Time, Digit Span Backwards, and Auditory Reaction Time.
Results: The results indicate that the CAWA battery is sensitive to the effects of treadmill-based maximal exercise, with no diurnal variation in asymptomatic participants.
Conclusions: Prior to any field trials, the CAWA preliminary findings indicate that the individual elements are sensitive and are repeatable in an asymptomatic population. The CAWA is an easy, time-efficient, and cost-effective method for individuals to test and re-test multiple times to identify latent signs / symptoms and neurocognitive trauma following sports-related concussion. | en_US |
