Neurocognitive evaluation of adolescents recovering from sports-related concussion: A prospective cohort pilot study utilizing the National Institutes of Health Toolbox cognition Battery

Objective: This study explored NIHTB-CB’s utility in assessing cognitive recovery in adolescents with SRC. We hypothesized the NIHTB-CB is sensitive to detecting weaknesses in fluid, but not crystalized, cognition, and adolescents recovering from SRC exhibit greater weaknesses than orthopedically injured (OI) adolescents. Method: Thirty-six participants diagnosed with SRC or OI were enrolled in a pilot study and completed the NIHTB-CB at the time of enrollment and 4–6 weeks post-injury clearance. A total of 14 participants were excluded from analyses due to attrition (n = 4) and PVT failure (n = 10), with 22 participants included in final analyses (SRC n = 10; OI n = 12). Results: Overall and fluid cognition composite ANOVAs revealed significant effects of time (p <.01), but not group (p >.22). Working memory (p =.04; d = 0.49) and processing speed (p <.01; d = 0.67) models indicated significant time effects. Models analyzing individual neurocognitive domains did not reveal significant group effects (p >.05). Models examining crystalized cognition did not reveal significant effects of group (p >.10), time (p >.12), or interaction (p >.35). Conclusions: These results did not indicate unique weaknesses in fluid cognition, concerning for NIHTB-CB’s sensitivity in detecting post-injury changes using an OI control group. The NIHTB-CB captured preserved crystallized cognition throughout recovery as hypothesized.