Early Treatment Interventions to Improve Outcome Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Adults Presenting to the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review.

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Title: Early Treatment Interventions to Improve Outcome Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Adults Presenting to the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review.
Authors: Coffeng, Sophie M. (AUTHOR), Snoeck, Sacha E. H. (AUTHOR), Blaauw, Jurre (AUTHOR), van der Naalt, Joukje (AUTHOR), Jacobs, Bram (AUTHOR), Fee, Dominic B. (AUTHOR)
Source: Acta Neurologica Scandinavica. 6/19/2026, Vol. 2026, p1-18. 18p.
Subjects: Early medical intervention, Psychoeducation, Evidence synthesis, Brain injuries, Functional status, Physical therapy, Hospital emergency services, Brain concussion
Abstract: Objective: Most patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) presenting to the emergency department (ED) do not receive standardized follow‐up care or therapy, whereas early interventions may yield beneficial effect on posttraumatic symptoms. The objective of this systematic review was to assess the effect of early interventions, compared with usual care or placebo, on posttraumatic symptoms in patients (≥ 16 years) with mTBI presented at the ED. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, were searched for articles concerning early interventions (started within three months post‐injury) after mTBI. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical controlled trials were selected. Outcome could be measured in various ways, such as presence of posttraumatic symptoms, functional outcome, and/or quality of life. The systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Two reviewers independently selected studies for inclusion and subsequently extracted the necessary data. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Risk of Bias Tool 2 for RCTs and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale for clinical controlled trials. Mainly due to heterogeneity of outcome measures, conducting a meta‐analysis was not possible. Results: From 3202 citations, 111 were potentially relevant and 19 were included involving 3357 participants with mTBI (three studies on physical therapy/exercise, 11 on psychoeducation and five on multidisciplinary interventions). We found no evidence for the improvement of posttraumatic symptoms following physical therapy/exercise or multidisciplinary therapy compared with usual care. A better outcome was demonstrated in four psychoeducation studies, with two providing multiple sessions. Nevertheless, the limited number studies, the small sample sizes, the discrepancies in study design and our concerns about the quality of studies make it difficult to draw solid conclusions. Conclusions: Current evidence on the efficacy of early interventions for patients with mTBI presenting at the ED is limited. Based on the available literature, no clear advice can be provided on which early interventions are effective to prevent posttraumatic symptoms and unfavorable functional outcome in patients with mTBI. Repeated psychoeducation appears to have some potential benefit. We advocate future research focusing on patients at high risk of long‐term posttraumatic symptoms in combination with symptom‐guided therapies to improve posttraumatic complaints and functional outcome in mTBI. PROSPERO database (registration number 2024 CRD42024511509). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Acta Neurologica Scandinavica is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: Early Treatment Interventions to Improve Outcome Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Adults Presenting to the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Coffeng%2C+Sophie+M%2E%22">Coffeng, Sophie M.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Snoeck%2C+Sacha+E%2E+H%2E%22">Snoeck, Sacha E. H.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Blaauw%2C+Jurre%22">Blaauw, Jurre</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22van+der+Naalt%2C+Joukje%22">van der Naalt, Joukje</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jacobs%2C+Bram%22">Jacobs, Bram</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fee%2C+Dominic+B%2E%22">Fee, Dominic B.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Acta+Neurologica+Scandinavica%22">Acta Neurologica Scandinavica</searchLink>. 6/19/2026, Vol. 2026, p1-18. 18p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+medical+intervention%22">Early medical intervention</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychoeducation%22">Psychoeducation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Evidence+synthesis%22">Evidence synthesis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Brain+injuries%22">Brain injuries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Functional+status%22">Functional status</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Physical+therapy%22">Physical therapy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hospital+emergency+services%22">Hospital emergency services</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Brain+concussion%22">Brain concussion</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
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  Data: Objective: Most patients with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) presenting to the emergency department (ED) do not receive standardized follow‐up care or therapy, whereas early interventions may yield beneficial effect on posttraumatic symptoms. The objective of this systematic review was to assess the effect of early interventions, compared with usual care or placebo, on posttraumatic symptoms in patients (≥ 16 years) with mTBI presented at the ED. Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, were searched for articles concerning early interventions (started within three months post‐injury) after mTBI. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and clinical controlled trials were selected. Outcome could be measured in various ways, such as presence of posttraumatic symptoms, functional outcome, and/or quality of life. The systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Two reviewers independently selected studies for inclusion and subsequently extracted the necessary data. The methodological quality of the included studies was assessed using the Risk of Bias Tool 2 for RCTs and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale for clinical controlled trials. Mainly due to heterogeneity of outcome measures, conducting a meta‐analysis was not possible. Results: From 3202 citations, 111 were potentially relevant and 19 were included involving 3357 participants with mTBI (three studies on physical therapy/exercise, 11 on psychoeducation and five on multidisciplinary interventions). We found no evidence for the improvement of posttraumatic symptoms following physical therapy/exercise or multidisciplinary therapy compared with usual care. A better outcome was demonstrated in four psychoeducation studies, with two providing multiple sessions. Nevertheless, the limited number studies, the small sample sizes, the discrepancies in study design and our concerns about the quality of studies make it difficult to draw solid conclusions. Conclusions: Current evidence on the efficacy of early interventions for patients with mTBI presenting at the ED is limited. Based on the available literature, no clear advice can be provided on which early interventions are effective to prevent posttraumatic symptoms and unfavorable functional outcome in patients with mTBI. Repeated psychoeducation appears to have some potential benefit. We advocate future research focusing on patients at high risk of long‐term posttraumatic symptoms in combination with symptom‐guided therapies to improve posttraumatic complaints and functional outcome in mTBI. PROSPERO database (registration number 2024 CRD42024511509). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Acta Neurologica Scandinavica is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1155/ane/6838541
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 18
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    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Early medical intervention
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychoeducation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Evidence synthesis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Brain injuries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Functional status
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Physical therapy
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      – SubjectFull: Hospital emergency services
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Brain concussion
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Early Treatment Interventions to Improve Outcome Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Adults Presenting to the Emergency Department: A Systematic Review.
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              Text: 6/19/2026
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              Y: 2026
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