An important, and well-established, part of an assessment for concussion on the sports sideline under the most recent concussion guidelines[1,2] is to test an athlete's orientation to time and place by asking the so-called "Maddocks questions." [3]
The SCAT3 [1] [4] includes the following modified Maddocks questions, which should be preceded with the preface: "I am going to ask you a few questions, please listen carefully and give your best effort."
The Maddocks questions are validated for sideline evaluation only:
Because children under the age of 13 report concussion symptoms and respond to questions differently, the new Child-SCAT3 [3][5] issued as part of the 4th International Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport[1]calls for a child aged 5 to 12 years to be asked four simple questions to determine orientation to time and place:
Because the Maddocks questions can be asked by anyone, they are valuable on sports sidelines where no health care professional trained in performing a full sideline screening for concussion, such as doctor or certified athletic trainer, is present, as is often the case in contact and collision sports involving younger athletes.
2. Harmon K, et al. American Medical Society for Sports Medicine position statement: concussion in sport. Br J Sports Med. 2013;47:15-26.
3. Maddocks DL, Dicker GD, Saling MM. The assessment of orientation following concussion in athletes. Clin J Sport Med 1995;5(1):32-35.
4. SCAT3. Br J Sports Med 2013;47:259 [4].
5. Child SCAT3. Br J Sports Med 2013;47:263.
6. Giza C, Kutcher J, Ashwal S, et. al. Summary of evidence-based guideline update: Evaluation and management of concussion in sports: Report of the Guideline Development Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Neurology 2013 (published online ahead of print March 18, 2013): DOI:10.1212/WNL.ob013e31828d57dd (accessed March 23, 2013)
Posted August 6, 2013
Links:
[1] https://www.momsteam.com/node/1335
[2] https://www.momsteam.com/node/149
[3] https://www.momsteam.com/node/6026
[4] http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/47/5/259.full.pdf
[5] https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/sport-concussion-assessment-tool-evaluation-and-management
[6] https://www.momsteam.com/5-7/concussion-evaluation-management-return-play-different-younger-children
[7] https://www.momsteam.com/king-devick-new-concussion-screening-tool-may-dramatically-improve-detection-rate-sports-sideline