In the July-September issue of the Journal Of Athletic Training devoted exclusively to the subject of concussions in athletes, I proposed some modifications to a set of concussion grading guidelines I first issued in 1986 based on my experience in the fifteen years since.

The following chart compares the two:

Comparison Of 1986 and 2001 Cantu Concussion Grading Guidelines
	1986 Cantu	2001 Cantu (Evidence Based)
Grade 1 (mild)	No loss of consciousness (LOC) Posttraumatic amnesia (PTA) lasting less than 30 minutes	No LOC PTA lasting less than 30 minutes OR Postconcussion signs or symptoms lasting less than 30 minutes
Grade 2 (moderate)	LOC lasting less than 5 minutes OR PTA lasting longer than 30 minutes but less than 24 hours	LOC lasting less than 1 minute AND PTA lasting longer than 30 minutes but less than 24 hours OR Postconcussion signs or symptoms lasting longer than 30 minutes but less than 24 hours
Grade 3 (severe)	LOC lasting longer than 5 minutes OR PTA for more than 24 hours	LOC lasting longer than 1 minute OR PTA for more than 24 hours OR Postconcussion signs or symptoms lasting longer than 7 days

Article Updated: August 1, 2007

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