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Data from: Characteristics of patients included and enrolled in studies on the prognostic value of serum biomarkers for prediction of post-concussion symptoms following a mild traumatic brain injury: a systematic review

Cite this dataset

Mercier, Eric et al. (2017). Data from: Characteristics of patients included and enrolled in studies on the prognostic value of serum biomarkers for prediction of post-concussion symptoms following a mild traumatic brain injury: a systematic review [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.87486

Abstract

Objective: Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has been insufficiently researched and its definition remains elusive. Investigators are confronted by heterogeneity in patients, mechanism of injury and outcomes. Findings are thus often limited in generalizability and clinical application. Serum protein biomarkers are increasingly assessed to enhance prognostication of outcomes but their translation into clinical practice has yet to be achieved. A systematic review was performed to describe the adult populations included and enrolled in studies that evaluated the prognostic value of protein biomarkers to predict post-concussion symptoms following a mTBI. Data sources: Searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycBITE, and PsycINFO up to October 2016. Data selection and extraction: Two reviewers independently screened for potentially eligible studies, extracted data and assessed the overall quality of evidence by outcome using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. Results: A total of 23,298 citations were obtained from which 166 manuscripts were reviewed. Thirty-six cohort studies (2,812 patients) having enrolled between 7 and 311 patients (median 89) fulfilled our inclusion criteria. Most studies excluded patients based on advanced age (n=10 (28%)), neurologic disorders (n=20 (56%)), psychiatric disorders (n=17 (47%)), substance abuse disorders (n=13 (36%)) or previous TBI (n=10 (28%)). Twenty-one studies (58%) used at least two of these exclusion criteria. The pooled mean age of included patients was 39.3 (SD 4.6) years old (34 studies). The criteria used to define a mTBI were inconsistent. The most frequently reported outcome was post-concussion syndrome (PCS) using the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (n=18 (50%)) with follow-ups ranging from 7 days to 5 years after the mTBI. Conclusions: Most studies have recruited samples that are not representative and generalizable to the mTBI population. These exclusion criteria limit the potential use and translation of promising serum protein biomarkers to predict post-concussion symptoms.

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