PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitation
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This article aims to examine pediatric concussion literature with respect to epidemiology, etiology, return to play, and recurrent concussions, and to provide recommendations for future research. We conducted a review of pediatric concussion literature regarding incidence, etiology, return to play, and recurrent concussive injury by using MEDLINE, CINAHL, Sport-Discus, and PsychInfo databases from 1995-2010. A review of reference lists in the aforementioned articles was also performed. ⋯ Evidence exists that children and adolescents take longer to recover than adults after a concussion, which underscores the need for a more conservative approach to management and return to physical and cognitive activities. Concussion in the young athlete is of specific concern because of the continuing cognitive maturation, therefore, the recovery may be more difficult to track when using the standard assessment tools currently available. Until future studies can better delineate the mechanisms of, response to, and recovery from concussion in the young athlete, it is prudent to act in a conservative manner when dealing with pediatric athletes with concussion.