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These guidelines are intended for implementation by Athletic Trainers, Athletic Directors and Coaches. Diagnosis of concussion and return to play decisions should be made by licensed physicians only. First aid should only be administered by trained individuals.

Baseline or pre-season evaluation is an essential part of the concussion management process. CogState Sport is designed for use by non-specialists and may be administered by people with minimal training. Reports must be interpreted by a physician, but in most cases that physician does not need to have neuropsychological expertise.

CogState Sport provides the two key components of pre-season preparation:

1. A concussion history taken while the athlete is healthy provides important information in the event of a concussion. Where an athlete has a history of previous concussions, physicians should proceed with extra caution when making return to play decisions.
2. Concussion causes subtle changes in the speed and accuracy of cognition (thinking). These changes are usually the last symptoms to go away after a concussion. But, they are very slight and so it is very difficult to detect them without a computer test which compares an individual to themselves when they were ‘normal'. This means that testing before any injury occurs is essential.

Neuropsychological testing

Analysis of baseline neuropsychological data is important to help ensure that the athlete's baseline performance is optimal, and not adversely affected by disease, drugs, practice effects or the athlete ‘faking bad'.

Every CogState Sport baseline test is analyzed to look for performance that falls outside normal ranges. In such cases athletes must be re-tested to obtain a valid baseline. Initial results that fall outside normal ranges for cognitive performance may indicate an undiagnosed medical condition for which treatment may be needed and an athlete who performs a second baseline test outside normal ranges should be seen by a medical professional.

Ensure you have received a baseline report for each athlete and follow up on any actions suggested in the reports. All completed baseline tests should be e-mailed to CogState for analysis within 2 weeks of the test date. Yearly baseline testing of all athletes participating in contact sport is required.

Important points

Everyone should be aware of the following important points when conducting baseline testing on their athletes:

1. All athletes should practice the test at least once before completing a ‘regular test'.
2. All completed baseline tests should be e-mailed to CogSport for analysis within 2 weeks of the test date.
3. Yearly baseline testing of all individuals participating in contact sport is required.