Effect of Screen Time on Recovery From Concussion
Trial question
What is the effect of screen time on patients who sustain a concussion?
Study design
Multi-center
Open label
RCT
Population
Characteristics of study participants
49.0% female
51.0% male
N = 125
125 patients (61 female, 64 male).
Inclusion criteria: patients aged 12 to 25 years presenting to the emergency department within 24 hours of sustaining a concussion.
Key exclusion criteria: intoxication, GCS score < 15 points, intracranial abnormalities identified on imaging, preexisting intellectual disability, severe psychiatric illness, severe neurological conditions, substantial previous neurological surgery.
Interventions
N=66 screen time permitted (screen time permission for 48 hours after injury).
N=59 screen time abstinent (abstinence of screen time for 48 hours after injury).
Primary outcome
Median time until concussion recovery
8 days
3.5 days
8.0 days
6.0 days
4.0 days
2.0 days
0.0 days
Screen time
permitted
Screen time
abstinent
Significant
increase ▲
Significant increase in median time until concussion recovery (8 days vs. 3.5 days; AD 4.5 days, 95% CI 0.43 to 8.57).
Secondary outcomes
No significant difference in sleep duration on first 3 days (29 hours vs. 29 hours; RR 1, 95% CI 0 to 2).
Conclusion
In patients aged 12 to 25 years presenting to the emergency department within 24 hours of sustaining a concussion, screen time permitted was inferior to screen time abstinent with respect to median time until concussion recovery.
Reference
Theodore Macnow, Tess Curran, Courtney Tolliday et al. Effect of Screen Time on Recovery From Concussion: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Pediatr. 2021 Nov 1;175(11):1124-1131.
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