Sport concussion (SC) has emerged as a major health concern in the medical community and general public owing to increased research and media attention, which has primarily focused on male athletes. Female athletes have an equal, if not increased, susceptibility to SC. An ever-growing body of research continues to compare male and female athletes in terms of SC before and after an injury. Clinicians must be cognizant of this literature to make evidence-based clinical decision when providing care to female athletes and discern between dated and/or unsupported claims in terms of SC.
Summary Points:
- Clinical measures based on visual tasks, most notably the King-Devick (K-D) Test, have been introduced as viable sideline measures of sport concussion (SC)
- The K-D test is a rapid visual screening tool that assesses the speed and accuracy of an athlete reading numbers from left to right in increasingly complex patterns provided on alternative cards, which requires the use of saccades and concentration to complete.
- The K-D test has been demonstrated to have evidence of high test–retest reliability, sensitivity, and specificity with variable test–retest intervals across a wide range of age, sport, and non-sport groups.
- Additionally, preliminary evidence suggests sex does not seem to influence K-D test performance. The evidence remains promising for the K-D test as a sideline measure of SC.