Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40148983›Full record

ArticleBMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation2025

Heads up for concussion, what do emergency physicians know? A scoping review.

Adam Gowdy, Neil Heron

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. If in doubt, sit them out: concussion management in the community.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Adam GowdySchool of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT12 6BA, UK. agowdy04@qub.ac.uk.
Neil HeronCentre for Public Health, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, BT12 6BA, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionConcussion is a common condition, with sources estimating between 1.2% and 6.6% of all ED presentations are related to head injury, and concussion has significant healthcare costs. In April 2023, the UK Government published guidelines for diagnosis and management of concussions in grassroots sport, recommending anyone that has sustained a suspected concussion has a same day review by an appropriate healthcare professional. It is therefore essential that emergency medicine physicians have the required knowledge and use current clinical practice guidelines in managing suspected concussions presenting to their departments. This scoping review aims to review the current literature regarding concussion knowledge, diagnosis and management amongst emergency physicians. MATERIALS AND

methodsThis scoping review was conducted using the six-step process laid out by Arksey and O'Malley and included 17 papers from January 2012 to February 2023, identified by searching 5 online databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar) in February 2023 alongside a hand search of references. Search terms relevant to concussion, emergency medicine and medical education were used.

results14 of the 17 papers originated from North America, all studies utilised either an online survey or chart review methodology. 3 papers included an educational intervention. 12 studies looked at all grades of EMPs. 14 of the studies highlighted knowledge gaps amongst EMPs, the 3 that did not specifically mention this were the 3 interventional studies.

conclusionEMPs have large knowledge gaps regarding concussion and limited adherence to current guidelines. Efforts should be made at improving these results amongst EMPs. Further research is needed to find the most beneficial and cost-effective approach to improving concussion knowledge of concussion diagnosis and management in EDs, particularly within the UK.

Indexed as

ConcussionConcussion knowledgeEmergency medicineHead injuryMedical educationMild traumatic brain injurySports related concussion

Identifiers

PMID40148983
PMCPMC11948858

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.