Society guideline links: Minor head trauma and concussion

Introduction — 

This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.

The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.

Links to related guidelines are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: Increased intracranial pressure and moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury" and "Society guideline links: Sports-related concussion" and "Society guideline links: Pediatric trauma".)

International

●Concussion in Sport Group (CISG): Consensus statement on concussion in sport – The 6th International Conference on Concussion in Sport: Amsterdam, October 2022 (published 2023)

Canada

●Living Concussion Guidelines: Guideline for concussion & prolonged symptoms for adults 18 years of age or older

●PedsConcussion: Living guideline for pediatric concussion care

●Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS): Position statement on sport-related concussion and bodychecking in children and youth – Evaluation, management, and policy implications (2023)

●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't order a head CT scan for minor head injuries/concussion (2023)

●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't do imaging for minor head trauma unless red flags are present (2022)

●Choosing Wisely Canada: Don't order CT head scans in adults and children who have suffered minor head injuries (unless positive for a validated head injury clinical decision rule) (2021)

●CPS: Position statement for the management of the paediatric patient with acute head trauma (2013, reaffirmed 2018)

United States

●National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA): Bridge statement for the management of sport-related concussion (2024)

●American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP): Clinical policy – Critical issues in the management of adult patients presenting to the emergency department with mild traumatic brain injury (2023)

●Consensus statement – An evidence-based review of exercise, rehabilitation, rest, and return to activity protocols for the treatment of concussion and mild traumatic brain injury (2023)

●American Academy of Neurology (AAN): Practice guideline for the evaluation and management of concussion in sports (2013, reaffirmed 2022)

●American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Clinical report on evaluation of the visual system by the primary care provider following concussion (2022)

●AAP: Policy statement on vision and concussion – Symptoms, signs, evaluation, and treatment (2022)

●NATA: Position statement on reducing intentional head-first contact behavior in American football players (2022)

●American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM): Clinical practice statement – Do patients on direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) require repeat imaging and a period of observation after a head injury with an initial negative CT? (2021)

●American College of Radiology (ACR): ACR Appropriateness Criteria on head trauma, update (2021)

●Team Physician Consensus Conference (TPCC): Selected issues in sport-related concussion (SRC | mild traumatic brain injury) for the team physician – A consensus statement (2021)

●ACR: ACR Appropriateness Criteria on head trauma – Child (revised 2019)

●American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM): Position statement on concussion in sport (2019)

●Concussion guidelines step 2 – Evidence for subtype classification (2019)

●AAP: Clinical report on sports-related concussion in children and adolescents (2018)

●Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Guideline on the diagnosis and management of mild traumatic brain injury among children (2018)

●American College of Surgeons (ACS): Statement on concussion and brain injury (2012)

●Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST): Practice management guideline for the evaluation and management of mild traumatic brain injury (2012)

Europe

●European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS): Guidelines on mild traumatic brain injury (2012)

United Kingdom

●If in doubt, sit them out: UK concussion guidelines for non-elite (grassroots) sport (2023)

●National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): Guideline on head injury – Assessment and early management (2023)

●NICE: Quality standard on head injury (2014, updated 2023)

●Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (FSEM), Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), and Society of British Neurological Surgeons (SBNS): Concussion guidelines for the education sector (2015)

Australia–New Zealand

●Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), Australasian College of Sport & Exercise Physicians (ACSEP), Sports Medicine Australia (SMA), and Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA): Australian concussion guidelines for youth and community sport (2024)

●AIS, SMA, APA, and ACSEP: Concussion and brain health position statement (2024)

●Paediatric Research in Emergency Departments International Collaborative (PREDICT): Australian and New Zealand guidelines for mild to moderate head injuries in children (2021)

●Choosing Wisely Australia: Don't request computed tomography (CT) head scans in patients with a head injury, unless indicated by a validated clinical decision rule (2015)

Japan

●[In Japanese] Choosing Wisely Japan: Should a CT scan be done when a child hits their head? (2016)

●[In Japanese] Choosing Wisely Japan: When someone hits their head, when is a CT scan necessary, and when is it not needed? (2016)