St. Chris Specialty Pediatrics at Bucks County Offers Pre- and Post-Concussion Testing

St. Chris Specialty Pediatrics at Bucks County, a multispecialty pediatric physician practice located in Yardley, Pa., now offers ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) to teenage patients.

While the ImPACT test can be used as part of the medical management of concussions, physicians at St. Chris Specialty Pediatrics at Bucks County also recommend that young athletes receive pre-testing before playing contact sports.

“We recommend that teenagers who are beginning contact sports such as football, soccer and hockey that increase the risk of concussion and other head injuries receive a baseline test before they start playing,” said Dr. Prithvi Narayan, chief of neurosurgery at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children who also sees patients at St. Chris Specialty Pediatrics at Bucks County. “The ImPACT test only takes 20 minutes and provides us with data about the patient’s verbal and visual memory, processing speed and reaction time. We can use this baseline information to look for changes after a possible head injury.”

Parents of children as young as 12 years of age may want to schedule a baseline ImPACT test before their child starts organized sports that put the child at risk of head or contact injuries. The test uses a video-game format that appeals to children.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emergency departments in the U.S. treat about 135,000 children between the ages of 5 and 18 for sports-related traumatic brain injuries including concussions each year. Children who continue to play following a concussion risk long-term health problems, and in some cases the injury may be fatal.

Dr. Narayan said, “We use the pre- and post-concussion data from the ImPACT test and work with the child’s pediatrician or family doctor to ensure the child receives appropriate treatment. We also can use the test to ensure when it’s safe for the child to return to his or her sport.”

To learn more about the ImPACT test or to schedule a baseline test for your child, please contact us at (215) 369-3555.

Since 1875, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children has been providing exceptional patient care and advancing new pediatric treatments through research and innovation. Through affiliations with Drexel University College of Medicine and Temple University School of Medicine, St. Christopher’s is a teaching hospital helping to train the next generation of professionals in pediatric medicine.

The 189-bed hospital is committed to delivering high quality family- and patient-centered care to children from throughout the Philadelphia area and around the world. Its highly acclaimed programs include its Level I Pediatric Trauma Center; Level IIIC NICU, which is the highest NICU designation; Heart Center, Oncology/Transplant; as well as its Burn Center, which is the only dedicated pediatric burn center in the area. In 2009, St. Christopher’s achieved Magnet status, which is one of the nation's highest forms of recognition for nursing excellence, and numerous St. Chris physicians were recognized in regional publications as being “Top Docs” in their fields.

To learn more about St. Christopher’s, visit www.stchristophershospital.com. St. Christopher’s can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StChrisHospital or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/stchrishospital.

###