Study: Concussions Not Taken Seriously

A mild traumatic brain injury is often called a concussion. But parents take an injury that’s called a concussion less seriously, a new study suggests. An author of the study told HealthDay News that many parents think a concussion affects the head but not the brain. The study looked at hospital records of 341 children with traumatic brain injury. About one-third were diagnosed with a concussion. Others were told they had a traumatic brain injury. Children diagnosed with a concussion were 1½ times as likely as others to leave the hospital early. They were 2½ times as likely to return to school early. These trends persisted even if a child diagnosed with a concussion had a moderate or severe injury. The study appeared January 18 in the journal Pediatrics.