Do Children and Adolescents With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Persistent Symptoms Benefit From Treatment? A Systematic Review

Objective: To review the literature on treatment interventions in children and adolescents with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and persistent symptoms. Design: Systematic review of the literature yielding 6 studies incorporating 421 children and adolescents with mTBI. Results: A variety of medical and nonmedical interventions have been used to treat the persistent symptoms of mTBI in children and adolescents. Treatment included medications for headaches, transcranial stimulation for headaches, giving information booklets, nurse visits, cognitive and physical rest, and active rehabilitation (exercise). All 6 studies reported positive results; but none was a randomized controlled trial, only 1 included a no-treatment comparison group, and none compared different interventions. Conclusion: It is difficult to determine whether the positive findings resulted from intervention or reflected natural resolution of the symptoms with time. There is a need for more, higher-quality studies of interventions designed to reduce the duration and severity of persistent postconcussion symptoms.