To improve knowledge and inform clinical practice, experts at The Ottawa Hospital created the Living Concussion Guidelines to ensure health-care professionals have the tools they need to help adults living with concussions and prolonged symptoms.
With evidence-based and best-practice recommendations, the Guideline is a central hub that health-care professionals can access to ensure they have the most up-to-date information to diagnose and manage treatment for this patient population.
“Concussions often happen quickly and abruptly and are frequently unrecognized by the injured person themselves or those around them," said Dr. Shawn Marshall, Medical Director of the Acquired Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program at The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre. “Each patient experiences a concussion differently. These guidelines will help health-care providers navigate their patients through recovery and help them manage their symptoms and expectations."
In addition to presenting information in a user-friendly way, the guidelines also fill an information gap around persistent concussion symptoms and their management.
“Through my own online research, and discussion with others who have suffered concussions, I realized that most websites tend to focus on the initial stages of a concussion," said Natalia Rybczynski, a patient who suffered a concussion in 2011. “There was very little information out there for patients regarding what to expect with persisting symptoms, which was frustrating. Now we have more information that validates what we are going through, with strategies and tools for tracking and managing our symptoms right at our fingertips."
The Guideline is a 'living guideline' and continues to be updated with the best available evidence. It is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Health, The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, and the University of Ottawa Brain & Mind Research Institute.
Those interested in getting more information can now sign up for email updates on the website.