The effects of multiple mild traumatic brain injuries on acute injury presentation and neuropsychological recovery in children.

BACKGROUND:Although research focused on mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has proliferated in recent years, few studies have examined the significance of a previous history of mTBI in children.OBJECTIVE:To compare the acute injury presentation and neuropsychological recovery in a pediatric sample after mTBI.METHODS:Participants 8 to 16 years of age were divided into 4 groups: no previous injury history, history of 1 mTBI, history of 2 mTBIs, and history of 3 mTBIs. Participants were evaluated within 3 months of the most recent injury by clinical interview and an abbreviated neuropsychological test battery.RESULTS:After the index mTBI, the groups did not differ in their likelihood to display a loss of consciousness, nor did they differ on neuropsychological test performance.CONCLUSION:Overall, contrary to our hypotheses, we found no demonstrable difference between those children with a self-reported mTBI history and those without after an index mTBI.