Introduction
CogState Sport is an easy-to-use computer-based system to help you, the athlete's doctor, decide when it is OK for an athlete to resume play after a concussion. CogState Sport is comprised of a series of cognitive tests measuring reaction time, decision making, attention and memory. All tests are based on a card-game metaphor, with one or two possible responses in each case.
CogState Sport also includes a brief injury questionnaire, designed to collect relevant clinical information such as the athlete's symptoms at the time of testing, the presence of loss of consciousness (LOC) or post-traumatic amnesia (PTA) at the time of injury, and the time between the injury and CogState Sport assessment.
CogState Sport works by taking a baseline measurement of an athlete's cognitive performance. Then, if the athlete suffers a concussion then once the symptoms have resolved, one or more follow-up tests are taken, until it has been shown that the athlete's cognitive function is back to pre-injury levels.
The results of both baseline testing (taken when the athlete is uninjured) and after-injury testing are summarized on CogState Sport after-injury reports. These reports also make a statistical comparison of the athlete's after-injury performance to their own baseline performance. Such reports are intended for interpretation only by licensed medical professionals.
There are two main reasons why an athlete may have been referred to you:
- Because they have been concussed - they should have an after-injury report.
- Because there was some sort of problem with a baseline test, and there is a concern that there may be some sort of problem other than concussion.
