Children’s Hospital At Palms West Now Offering Advanced Concussion Treatment
By M. Dennis Taylor
Emergency room visits for concussions and other traumatic brain injuries in children ages eight to 19 topped 200,000 nationwide last year. As these statistics have more than doubled in the last decade, parents can be reassured that the Children’s Hospital at Palms West is now prepared to quickly evaluate and provide Advanced Concussion Treatment (ACT) for sports-related injuries, falls or accidents. “When we were kids, there wasn’t really a big focus on it, but now with enhanced awareness of concussion, return-to-play protocols, and just the fact that being in Wellington with such a high amount of sports activities, people are becoming aware,” said Krista Hawkinson, director of emergency services at the Children’s Hospital at Palms West. “There’s a lot of activity here that can contribute to increased concussions due to the fact that we are in a perpetual state of summer year-round.” Children who sustain a concussion almost always recover completely in a relatively short period of time. “Young athletes — some as young as five or six — their brains are still developing. We want to ensure that, first of all, we are providing testing for any children who are playing sports in Palm Beach County,” Director of Pediatric Services Caren Bock explained. The best way to achieve a good outcome from an incident is to ensure that a child is evaluated and assessed by experts with special training in brain injuries. “That’s so important to us because their brain is developing. To have continuous baselines, at least once a year or every two years, is so helpful if they do feel the effects of a concussion,” Bock said. “With children’s smaller heads, there could be more problems than
the parents or the physicians can know from observation alone. As children do naturally bounce back quickly, it’s helpful to have a comparison of a baseline, over time, so you can compare any injuries throughout their childhood.” Concussion symptoms to look for include: temporary loss of consciousness, balance problems with unsteady walking, dizziness or “seeing stars,” double or fuzzy vision, confusion or feeling “foggy,” slurred speech, ringing in the ears, sensitivity to light or sound, head-
ache or a feeling of pressure in the head, nausea or vomiting, memory problems, irritability, crankiness or fatigue. Left untreated, concussions can lead to severe brain injury, and while the majority of young athletes recover from concussions, athletes who are not fully recovered from an initial concussion are at higher risk for receiving a second. When a child has a second concussion before the first is fully recovered, significant cognitive and behavioral changes can occur. This can leave the child at risk for Second Impact Syndrome, a rare condition with often catastrophic results. Second Impact Syndrome can result from even a mild concussion that occurs days or weeks after the initial one. Many concussions go unrecognized. It has been estimated that more than half of the concussions occurring at the
“There’s a lot of activity here that can contribute to increased concussions,” Krista Hawkinson said.
wellington the magazine | july 2018
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