Mild Brain Injuries Can Disable ADHD Kids

By Rick Nauert PhD Senior News Editor Reviewed by John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on June 26, 2013

Researchers have discovered that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are more likely to demonstrate a moderate disability after sustaining a mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) than children without ADHD.

As such, researchers suggest that perhaps children with ADHD should be steered away from engaging in sports or hobbies that carry increased risks of sustaining a TBI, and that children with ADHD receive special monitoring if a TBI occurs.

Detailed findings of the study are phenomenon are reported and discussed in an article found in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.

The researchers set out to find whether ADHD has an effect on outcome following mild traumatic brain injury (TBI).

To do this, they examined the charts of all patients with ADHD who received a diagnosis of mild closed-head injury (an injury in which no neurosurgical treatment is required) at Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh between January 2003 and December 2010.

A mild closed-head injury results in what is termed a mild TBI, which is categorized by an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13 to 15.

From their review of patient charts, Dr. Christopher Bonfield and colleagues identified 48 children with ADHD who had sustained a mild TBI. They paired this group of patients with a randomly selected age-matched control group of 45 patients without ADHD who also had sustained a mild TBI.

The researchers compared outcomes in the two groups of patients by using the Kings Outcome Scale for Childhood Head Injury (KOSCHI), a tool that allows greater differentiation of deficits across the milder range of disabilities.

In addition to outcomes, the researchers compared patient demographics and injury-related factors.

See the article here:
Mild Brain Injuries Can Disable ADHD Kids