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Mild head injury and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children

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Abstract

Purpose

Post-concussion syndrome is a well-described complication following moderate and severe head trauma but whether it occurs after mild head injury in children remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether exposure to mild head injury with potential additional risk factors (non-surgical lesion on computed tomographic, high kinetic trauma, or Glasgow Coma Scale <15) is associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after the head trauma.

Methods

This study was performed in an emergency department on children admitted between 2009 and 2013. It compared victims of mild head injury aged 6–16 years with matched children presenting isolated non-surgical forearm fracture (ratio1/2). ADHD was assessed using Conners’ Global Index–Parent short version 3–40 months after the trauma. The patients were compared using chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test, t test or u-test as appropriate with a p value set at 0.05.

Results

During the study period, 676 patients were admitted for mild head injury. Among them, 34 (5 %) fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were compared with 64 matched patients admitted for a forearm fracture. The groups were comparable. ADHD was observed in both groups (18 % in the mild head injury group, 11 % in the control group) with no significant differences between groups. The prevalence was high when compared to an expected frequency of 3.5–5.6 % in children aged 6–12 years in the general population.

Conclusions

These results suggest that pre-existing ADHD may have contributed to injury proneness in both groups and does not argue for a specific risk of ADHD induced by mild head injury. The diagnosis of ADHD should be evoked at admission of children aged 6–16 years presenting with a trauma.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Mrs. Deirdre McKeown for her help with the English language.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, Rennes University Hospital, Rennes, France

    Veronique Chasle, Romain Longuet, Yann Collet & Patrick Pladys

  2. Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Rennes University Hospital, Rennes, France

    Laurent Riffaud & Luc Le Fournier

  3. INSERM, UMR 1099 LTSI, University of Rennes 1, Rennes, France

    Laurent Riffaud & Patrick Pladys

  4. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rennes University Hospital, Rennes, France

    Marie Martineau-Curt

Authors
  1. Veronique Chasle
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  2. Laurent Riffaud
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  3. Romain Longuet
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  4. Marie Martineau-Curt
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  5. Yann Collet
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  6. Luc Le Fournier
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  7. Patrick Pladys
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Laurent Riffaud.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Chasle, V., Riffaud, L., Longuet, R. et al. Mild head injury and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. Childs Nerv Syst 32, 2357–2361 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-016-3230-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-016-3230-z

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