Summary and Agreement Statement of the Second International Conference on Concussion in Sport, Prague 2004.

In November 2001, the First International Symposium on Concussionin Sport was held in Vienna, Austria. This meeting was organized by theInternational Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in partnership with theFederation Internationale de Football (FIFA) and the InternationalOlympic Committee (IOC) Medical Commission. As part of the resultingmandate for the future, the need for leadership and updates wasidentified. To meet that mandate, the Second International Symposium onConcussion in Sport was organized by the same group and held in Prague,Czech Republic, in November 2004. The original aims of the symposia wereto provide recommendations for the improvement of safety and health ofathletes who suffer concussive injuries in ice hockey, football(soccer), as well as other sports. To this end, a range of experts wereinvited to both meetings in order to address specific issues ofepidemiology, basic and clinical science, injury grading systems,cognitive assessment, new research methods, protective equipment,management, prevention, and long-term outcome. At the conclusion of theinitial conference, a small group of experts was given a mandate by theconference delegates and organizing bodies to draft a documentdescribing the agreement position reached by those in attendance at thatmeeting. That document was copublished in the British Journal of SportsMedicine, the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, and The Physician andSportsmedicine.[1] The wider interest base resulting from the firstmeeting and document was reflected by the expanded representation. Newgroups at the second meeting included trauma surgeons, sportpsychologists, and others. The Concussion in Sport Group has producedthe current document as an update of the original Vienna consensusdocument and includes a sideline assessment form with a pocket-sizedsummary card for use by clinicians. This protocol represents a work inprogress and, as with all other recommendations or proposals, it must beupdated as new information is added to the current state of theliterature and understanding of this injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]