Enhanced Screening for Early Treatment Targets After MTBI

Brain Concussion Clinical Trial

Official title: Enhanced Screening for Early Treatment Targets After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

The study will examine whether enhancing screening-informed follow-up letters will improve (i) family physician compliance with best practice guidelines for managing persistent symptoms following concussion, and (ii) clinical outcomes from concussion.

Clinical Trial Description

Family physicians are well positioned to proactively manage symptoms in the weeks following MTBI, which could prevent chronicity and reduce the need for specialist treatment. Clinical practice guidelines are now available for MTBI management in primary care, such as those developed by the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (ONF). However, awareness and use of these guidelines may be low. Distilling the guidelines into a small number of actionable messages that are tailored to an individual patient may facilitate family physician implementation.

The ONF guidelines for MTBI propose that early intervention should prioritize the most readily treatable symptoms - mood (depression and anxiety), insomnia, and headaches. The present cluster randomized trial will evaluate whether screening for these conditions and sending family physicians treatment algorithms for positive screening test results will result in earlier evidence-based treatment.

Patients will be recruited from two concussion clinics that provide group education sessions. Following the education session, eligible participants will complete self-reported screening measures for depression, anxiety, insomnia, and headaches. Family physicians will be randomized to receive these screening test results with associated treatment algorithms from the ONF guidelines or a letter providing generic MTBI management recommendations from the ONF guidelines (currently done as usual care).

Patients will be assessed by telephone one month and three months after the intervention. The primary outcome will be patient-reported treatment utilization that is congruent with the ONF guidelines for depression, anxiety, insomnia, and headaches after MTBI. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Brain Concussion

• NCT number: NCT03221218
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: University of British Columbia
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 9, 2017
• Completion date: June 22, 2021