Post-Traumatic Amnesia Testing for Suspected Concussion in the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Study.
9 affiliations
- 1Alfred Health Emergency Services, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 2School of Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 3Department of Paramedicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 4Ambulance Victoria, Doncaster, Victoria, Australia.
- 5Australian Football League, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 6Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 7Monash-Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre, Epworth Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 8Department of Neuroscience, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- 9Department of Neurology, The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Abstract
Objective
Among patients discharged from the ED after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), 16%-25% experience post-concussive symptoms for up to 3 months after injury. However, the assessment of mTBI in the ED is variable. A common tool for the assessment of mTBI in Australia is the Abbreviated Westmead Post-Traumatic Amnesia Scale (A-WPTAS). The aim of this study was to report the proportion of patients who were detected to have post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) following a head injury and whether this varied by reported loss of consciousness (LOC), age, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and mechanisms of injury.Methods
This was a single-centre, retrospective cohort study. Data were extracted from patients' electronic medical records. All patients presenting to the ED between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2021 with a head injury, documented results of A-WPTAS, and aged ≥ 18 years were included for analysis.Results
There were 6259 patients included, and 5746 (91.8%, 95% CI: 91.1%-92.5%) passed the A-WPTAS. -PTA was more frequent among patients who presented with GCS 13 or 14, male patients, those with low falls and presenting after hours. Among patients with documented LOC, the pass rate was 90.6% (95% CI: 88.8%-92.4%), and among those without LOC, it was 92% (95% CI: 91.3%-92.8%); p = 0.13.Conclusion
PTA was detected in a small proportion of patients tested in the ED. PTA was associated with low initial GCS, but not with reported LOC. Among patients discharged from the ED, follow-up for persistent post-concussion symptoms is indicated.
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BibTeX
@article{essery2026posttraumatic,
title = {{Post-Traumatic Amnesia Testing for Suspected Concussion in the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Study.}},
author = {Madison Essery and Alexander Olaussen and Jonathan Reyes and Stuart J McDonald and Biswadev Mitra},
journal = {Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1111/1742-6723.70383},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42968228},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Post-Traumatic Amnesia Testing for Suspected Concussion in the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Study.
AU - Madison Essery
AU - Alexander Olaussen
AU - Jonathan Reyes
AU - Stuart J McDonald
AU - Biswadev Mitra
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
JO - Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
DO - 10.1111/1742-6723.70383
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42968228
AB - Objective Among patients discharged from the ED after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), 16%-25% experience post-concussive symptoms for up to 3 months after injury. However, the assessment of mTBI in the ED is variable. A common tool for the assessment of mTBI in Australia is the Abbreviated Westmead Post-Traumatic Amnesia Scale (A-WPTAS). The aim of this study was to report the proportion of patients who were detected to have post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) following a head injury and whether this varied by reported loss of consciousness (LOC), age, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) and mechanisms of injury.Methods This was a single-centre, retrospective cohort study. Data were extracted from patients' electronic medical records. All patients presenting to the ED between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2021 with a head injury, documented results of A-WPTAS, and aged ≥ 18 years were included for analysis.Results There were 6259 patients included, and 5746 (91.8%, 95% CI: 91.1%-92.5%) passed the A-WPTAS. -PTA was more frequent among patients who presented with GCS 13 or 14, male patients, those with low falls and presenting after hours. Among patients with documented LOC, the pass rate was 90.6% (95% CI: 88.8%-92.4%), and among those without LOC, it was 92% (95% CI: 91.3%-92.8%); p = 0.13.Conclusion PTA was detected in a small proportion of patients tested in the ED. PTA was associated with low initial GCS, but not with reported LOC. Among patients discharged from the ED, follow-up for persistent post-concussion symptoms is indicated.
SN - 1742-6731
SN - 1742-6723
ER -