title: Child and parent responses to a brain injury screening questionnaire.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine, by using a Brain Injury Screening Questionnaire (BISQ), in a sample of urban public school students, what proportion of children are at risk for having sustained a brain injury, to measure the incidence of blows to the head and alterations in mental status, and to determine whether children and parents report differently on the BISQ.
  
  
  METHODS
  Survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Research facility and community.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 137 urban students (age range, 12-19y) of varied ethnicity, who were recruited in 2 public schools, and their parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  The BISQ as completed by children and parents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fourteen children (10%) were at risk for having sustained a brain injury because they or their parents reported an alteration in mental status and 5 or more symptoms sensitive and specific to traumatic brain injury. Most children were reported to have experienced blows to the head, and 50% were reported to have experienced an alteration in mental status. In all areas, no significant differences were found between parent and child reports.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There may be significant numbers of children with undetected brain injury in schools. The BISQ is a useful tool to identify children at risk for having sustained a brain injury. Histories should be obtained from parents and children who are older than 11 years when screening children for brain injury.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029, USA. joshua.cantor@mssm.edu
authors.forename: Joshua B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Cantor
authors.forename: Wayne A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Michael E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Heather J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Charatz
authors.forename: Teresa A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Ashman
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abramowitz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D003221:Confusion / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014474:Unconsciousness