Six-Item Symptom Tool and Vestibular Screen Improve Concussion Diagnosis Accuracy

The clinical diagnosis of sport-related concussion remains a significant challenge for frontline physicians because there is no objective gold standard for identifying the injury [1]. Current consensus guidelines emphasize a multimodal assessment strategy that incorporates symptom reports, cognitive testing, and balance evaluations, yet the utility of these tools often diminishes rapidly within the first week post-injury [2, 3]. While the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool has served as the standard framework for nearly two decades, clinicians frequently encounter heterogeneity in patient presentations, ranging from migraine-like clusters to vestibular and cognitive-emotional subtypes [4, 5]. Emerging evidence suggests that incorporating specific assessments of the vestibular and ocular motor systems may provide higher diagnostic value than traditional static balance tests [6, 7]. A large-scale analysis now evaluates whether a more targeted symptom profile can improve diagnostic accuracy over existing comprehensive checklists, potentially streamlining sideline and clinic evaluations.