Article

Objective: To compare the balance skills of children after mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) with that of noninjured children matched for age, sex, and premorbid level of physical activity. Design: Cohort study. Setting: Pediatric trauma center. Participants: Thirty-eight children aged 7 to 16 years (mean, 12.2+/-2.8y) were recruited in each group. Children with mild TBI had a mean Glasgow Coma Scale score of 14.8 and were considered normal on a neurologic assessment at hospital discharge. Noninjured children were friends of those with mild TBI. Intervention: Assessments of balance were conducted at 1, 4, and 12 weeks after mild TBI and at corresponding time intervals for the controls. Main Outcome Measures: The balance subtest of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency (BOTMP), the Pediatric Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction for Balance (P-CTSIB), and the Postural Stress Test (PST) were used. Results: Over the time interval of the study, analyses of variance revealed that children with mild TBI performed significantly worse than the noninjured group on the BOTMP balance subtest (P<.001) and on the PST (P=.031), as well as on the eyes-closed conditions in the P-CTSIB tandem position (P=.05). Conclusions: Children with a mild TBI still showed balance deficits at 12 weeks postinjury. These deficits should be taken into consideration when planning a return to physical activities, particularly to those that require subtle balance skills.

Langue : ANGLAIS