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DOSSIER – This 12 August 2014 archive photo shows safety helmets in a container in a classroom before class in an Oklahoma elementary school. Comprehensive concussion guidelines for children, released by the US government on Tuesday, September 4, 2018, recommend that routine x-rays and blood tests not be used for diagnosis and reassure parents that most symptoms go away at three months. (AP Photo / Sue Ogrocki)
PHOENIX – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released the first national guidelines on the treatment of concussions.
The CDC said the guidelines aim to provide physicians with the tools they need to ensure the best results for young patients with mild traumatic brain injury.
Dr. Javier Cardenas, director of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, said that the recommendation against the use of X-rays on patients with concussion is logical.
"X-rays of the skull are not helpful," Cardenas said Thursday. "Second, the brain scan should only be done in an emergency situation."
Cardenas said parents should allow health professionals to decide if a scanner is needed.
"It's not to diagnose a concussion," he said. "It's looking for a broken skull, bleeding. Something more serious that needs to be evaluated at that time. "
Cardenas said the vast majority of people with concussions improve within one to three months.
He said that for people who are not doing better, health professionals should consider risk factors such as anxiety, migraines and depression.
The CDC guidelines address concussions of all causes, including falls, sports and auto accidents. They recommend the rest of physical and mental activity, including in school and sport, immediately after a concussion, gradually resuming normal routines.
In addition to recommendations against x-rays and CT scans, the guidelines include:
- It has not been proven that blood tests to detect concussions work and should not be done outside of research.
- Most of the children's symptoms disappear within one to three months, but recovery is variable and may be delayed in children who have already had a concussion.
- Adolescents, children with learning difficulties and those with mental illness all tend to recover more slowly than younger children.
- Rest, the main treatment, is recommended for the first three days, but inactivity beyond can worsen the symptoms.
- Children with an undiagnosed concussion risk another longer recovery period.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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