Concussion

Article By:

Ragnarsson, Kristjan T. Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York.

Last reviewed:April 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.155100

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• Concussion, published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader

Mild traumatic brain injury resulting from externally inflicted trauma. Although concussion, or mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), has many symptoms, there is often no physical evidence of damage to the brain (see illustration). In most cases, a single concussion appears to be a relatively benign neurologic event, followed by a rapid and complete recovery within several days or 1–2 weeks. Concussion is clinically manifested by at least one of the following: (1) loss of consciousness for 30 minutes or less; (2) posttraumatic amnesia for less than 24 hours; (3) an initial score of 13 to 15 on the Glasgow Coma Scale, which measures eye, verbal, and motor responses [note that scores can range from 3 (deep coma) to 15 (fully awake)]; and (4) alteration in mental state at the time of injury (for example, feeling dazed, disoriented, or confused). See also: Amnesia; Brain; Consciousness; Trauma

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