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Poster Presentations
168 Normative baseline SCAT5 scores in a population of United States paralympic athletes
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  1. Laura Zdziarski1,5,
  2. Lauren Pierpoint2,5,
  3. David Taylor3,5,
  4. Amber Donaldson3,5,
  5. William Moreau4,
  6. Dustin Nabhan3,5
  1. 1University of Utah, Department of Orthopaedics, Salt Lake City, USA
  2. 2Steadman Philippon Research Institute, Vail, USA
  3. 3USA Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Colorado Springs, USA
  4. 4Southern California University of Health Sciences, Whittier, USA
  5. 5USA Coalition for the Prevention of Illness and Injury in Sport, Colorado Springs, USA

Abstract

Background The Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 5th Edition (SCAT5) is the most recent version of the concussion evaluation tool used by clinicians to evaluate athletes with suspected concussions.

Objective To describe normative baseline SCAT5 scores among United States Paralympic athletes.

Design Retrospective descriptive epidemiology.

Setting United States Olympic and Paralympic Sports Medicine Centers.

Participants Fifty-eight Paralympic athletes (60.3% female, mean age±standard deviation (SD) = 30.2±10.6) representing 7 sport federations underwent baseline SCAT5 testing between April 2018 and July 2019.

Interventions None.

Main Outcome Measurements Baseline SCAT5 scores of healthy Paralympic athletes. T-tests were used to compare scores by sex.

Results Athletes reported an average of 5.0±5.4 symptoms (median=2.5, IQR=1.0–8.5) with an average severity score of 11.0±14.3 (median=6.0, IQR=0–17.5). Over half of athletes (59.3%) reported having sustained at least one concussion prior to testing (range=0–16 reported concussions). Mean scores ± SD for major components of the SCAT5: 4.8±0.74 for orientation, 21.0±3.7 for immediate memory, 3.9±1.1 for concentration, 6.7±6.4 for balance, 6.9±2.2 for delayed recall, and 15.7±2.8 for Standardized Assessment of Concussion. No sex differences were observed for any component scores of the SCAT5.

Conclusions Normative values for baseline SCAT5 performance are presented for a population of healthy Paralympic athletes. Future research should focus on the development of normative data for specific Paralympic disability classifications.

Clinical relevance Knowledge of normative scores may aid clinicians’ interpretation of baseline and post-injury SCAT5 scores.

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2021-IOC.154

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