Public Comment Opportunity: Draft guideline and systematic review on pediatric mild TBI

Public Comment Opportunity: Draft guideline and systematic review on pediatric mild TBI

Appropriate diagnosis and management of children with mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), including concussion, can help safeguard the health of young Americans. Accordingly, CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control’s (NCIPC) Board of Scientific Counselors (BSC) charged the Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Guideline Workgroup to draft a report that includes evidence-based recommendations for healthcare providers on diagnosing and managing pediatric mild TBI. The Workgroup’s final report was presented to and accepted by the CDC NCIPC/BSC on September 7, 2016. The Workgroup’s report and presentation can be found on the CDC Injury Center’s website.

Using the Workgroup report as a foundation, CDC drafted two documents that are now available on Regulations.gov (https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=CDC-2017-0089) for review and comment (Docket Number DC-2017-0089). CDC Guideline on the Diagnosis and Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Among Children (age 18 and under) Diagnosis and Management of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Among Children: A Systematic Review (inclusive of data tables)

The draft guideline is designed for use by acute care and primary care providers who diagnose and manage pediatric patients with mild TBI resulting from both unintentional and intentional injuries. The recommendations in the Guideline were developed based on findings from the systematic review, which covers 25 years of research on the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of pediatric mild TBI.

The 60-day public comment period on these two documents opened, September 29, 2017, and closes on November 28, 2017. Please submit all comments and feedback at www.Regulations.gov. Enter the docket number (CDC-2017-0089) to access the docket.

CDC values stakeholder and public engagement, and we encourage all stakeholders to provide feedback on the draft guideline. Please forward this announcement to others who may be interested in commenting. Following this public comment period, the draft documents will be sent for external peer review.

CDC is committed to helping protect Americans of all ages from TBI and the potentially devastating effects of this injury. For more information on CDC’s TBI research and programs, please visit www.cdc.gov/TraumaticBrainInjury.