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J Neurol (1995) 242 : 587-592

© Springer-Verlag 1995

N. S. King The Rivermead Post Concussion


S. Crawford
F. J. Wenden Symptoms Questionnaire:
N. E. G. Moss
D. T. Wade a measure of symptoms commonly
experienced after head injury
and its reliability

Abstract After head injuries, partic- an RPQ administered by an investi-


Received: 28 July 1994
Received in revised form: ularly mild or moderate ones, a range gator at 6 months after injury. A
16 December 1994 of post-concussion symptoms (PCS) second investigator readministered
Accepted: 14 January 1995 are often reported by patients. Such the questionnaire approximately 7
symptoms may significantly affect days later. Spearman rank correlation
patients' psychosocial functioning. coefficients were calculated for rat-
To date, no measure of the severity ings on the total symptom scores,
of PCS has been developed. This and for individual items. High re-
study presents the Rivermead Post liability was found for the total PCS
Concussion Symptoms Question- scores under both experimental con-
naire (RPQ) as such a measure, de- ditions (R s = +0.91 in study 1 and
rived from published material, and R s = +0.87 in study 2). Good reliabil-
investigates its reliability. The RPQ's ity was also found for individual
reliability was investigated under PCS items generally, although with
two experimental conditions. Study 1 some variation between different
examined its test-retest reliability symptoms. The results are discussed
when used as a self-report question- in relation to the major difficulties
naire at 7-10 days after injury. Forty- involved when looking for appropri-
one head-injured patients completed ate experimental criteria against
an RPQ at 7-10 days following their which measures of PCS can be vali-
head injury and again approximately dated.
24 h later. Study 2 examined the
N. S. King (N~) • S. Crawford questionnaire's inter-rater reliability Key words Head injury • Post-
F. J. Wenden • N. E. G. Moss - D. T. Wade when used as a measure adminis- concussion symptoms • Rivermead
Oxford Head Injury Service,
Rivermead Rehabilitation Centre, tered by two separate investigators. Post Concussion Symptoms
Abingdon Road, Oxford OX 1 4XD, UK Forty-six head-injured patients had Questionnaire

symptoms has been classified by the World Health Orga-


Introduction nization as the post-concussion syndrome [28] and it has
been noted that "the presentation of the post-concussion
Uncomplicated head injuries resulting in post-traumatic syndrome cluster of symptoms across samples of patients
amnesia (PTA) of less than 24 h are usually described as with head injuries is remarkably consistent" [20]. There is
being of minor, mild or moderate severity [17, 23]. Com- still controversy regarding the causes and development of
monly reported problems after such injuries include: such symptoms [3, 15]. Neuropsychological, neurophysi-
headaches, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, reduced concen- ological, neuropathological and psychological factors
tration, sleep disturbance, memory dysfunction, anxiety, have all been reported as being important [2, 26]. Simi-
sensitivity to noise, double or blurred vision, sensitivity to larly there is still a debate as to whether or not they form
light and depression [1, 3, 8, 10, 24]. This cluster of a distinct syndrome [2, 15]. This study will refer to the
588

s y m p t o m cluster as p o s t - c o n c u s s i o n s y m p t o m s (PCS) and cific s y m p t o m s e x p e r i e n c e d often v a r y o v e r time in the


the v a l i d i t y o f the m e a s u r e s will be discussed. s a m e i n d i v i d u a l [15, 24], and b e t w e e n individuals, so this
Patients with m i l d or m o d e r a t e h e a d injuries u s u a l l y study concentrates u p o n the total score.
report the resolution o f m o s t o f their s y m p t o m s within 3
months o f their injury [1, 6, 9, 10]. P r o s p e c t i v e studies in-
dicate, however, that a significant m i n o r i t y still report Subjects and methods
s o m e s y m p t o m s at 3 m o n t h s after injury [1, 9], and a
Two studies were undertaken. In the first study, the subjects con-
small m i n o r i t y at 12 months after injury [1, 26]. PCS m a y sisted of 41 adults (22 males and 19 females) with a mean age of
significantly i m p e d e return to w o r k and p s y c h o s o c i a l 31 years (SD 14.3; range 16-64). They were consecutive consent-
functioning [7, 8, 29]. ing patients registered with the Oxford Head Injury Service (OX-
C o n v e n t i o n a l m e a s u r e s o f the severity o f h e a d injury, HIS) and randomly assigned to be seen by one investigator (N.K.).
The subjects had a median PTA of 1 h (range 0-18 ). The causes
such as PTA, h a v e q u e s t i o n a b l e utility w h e n c o n s i d e r i n g of head injury were heterogeneous: 17 road traffic accidents,
m i l d and m o d e r a t e l y severe h e a d injuries [29]. W r i g h t s o n 6 falls, 5 horse-riding accidents, 4 assaults, 3 sports accidents and
and G r o n w a l l [29] c o n c l u d e d that P T A h a d m a j o r limita- 6 others.
tions in p r e d i c t i n g p s y c h o s o c i a l o u t c o m e in patients Subjects received a letter of introduction to the OXHIS ap-
proximately 7 days after injury. The letter invited them to com-
w h e r e P T A was less than 1 - 2 days. Other studies have
plete an enclosed RPQ as soon as they had read it and informed
d e m o n s t r a t e d that P T A has, at best, only w e a k correlation them that they would be contacted in the near future to be seen as
with PCS. F o r e x a m p l e , R u t h e r f o r d [24] and M i d d e l b o e et part of the OXHIS follow-up service. Subjects were then seen in
al. [ 18] reported no significant relationship, Jakobsen et al. their homes by the investigator at approximately 8 days after in-
[13] reported an inverse relationship and Minderhoud et al. jury. They were given another RPQ to complete at the beginning
of the visit. A brief structured interview was then conducted to es-
[19] r e p o r t e d a p o s i t i v e correlation. Thus this study does tablish basic epidemiological information, including the length of
not aim to c o m p a r e PCS m e a s u r e s with c o n v e n t i o n a l PTA and the cause of the head injury. Subjects who had not com-
m e a s u r e s o f h e a d injury severity or to clarify the causes, pleted the questionnaire on receipt of the introduction letter or had
d e v e l o p m e n t and m a i n t a i n i n g factors of P C S , but rather to received the letter on the same day as being visited, were invited to
complete the second RPQ 24 h afterwards and return it by post.
investigate w h e t h e r PCS can be consistently rated and Thus all subjects completed the RPQ on two separate occasions
therefore r e l i a b l y m e a s u r e d . (once alone and once when the investigator was present), rating
To date, m o s t studies have m e a s u r e d PCS solely b y us- their symptoms over the previous 24 h.
ing a checklist for patients to report the p r e s e n c e or ab- In the second study the subjects were 46 adults (31 male, 15 fe-
male), who were consecutively registered by the OXHIS and who
sence o f s y m p t o m s [1, 11, 22, 25, 26]. S o m e have ob-
consented to interview at a routine 6-month follow-up. Their mean
tained self-reports o f the absolute or relative increase in age was 34 years (SD 13.2; range 17-64) with a median PTA of 8
s y m p t o m s f o l l o w i n g t r a u m a [3-5], also using a checklist. h (range 0 to 21 days). Six subjects were unable to estimate the
Others h a v e u s e d n u m e r i c a l self-report ratings corre- length of their PTA. The causes of head injury varied: 27 road traf-
s p o n d i n g to the d e g r e e to w h i c h the PCS i m p i n g e on fic accidents, 5 assaults, 5 accidents at work, 3 horse-riding acci-
dents and 6 others.
e v e r y d a y life [9, 11 ]. Subjects were contacted approximately 6 months after injury
S i m p l e checklists do not a i m to assess the degree to and asked whether they would be willing to take part in a follow-
w h i c h PCS m a y i m p i n g e on p s y c h o s o c i a l functioning. up of head-injured patients offered to all those registered by
This reduces their usefulness. T h e p u b l i s h e d self-report OXHIS. If they agreed, they were visited at their home by one of
the investigators (S.C. or F.W.). The investigator administered the
m e a s u r e s have no data on their reliability. It is therefore RPQ, recording the patient's ratings for each item during the pre-
unclear w h e t h e r they have the potential to be v a l i d m e a - vious week. It was decided that this would give a broader and more
sures o f PCS. accurate indication of the incidence of symptoms beyond the acute
This study presents the R i v e r m e a d Post C o n c u s s i o n stage. A brief structured interview was also conducted in order to
establish basic epidemiological information, including length of
S y m p t o m s Q u e s t i o n n a i r e (RPQ; A p p e n d i x 1), d e v i s e d to
PTA and cause of head injury. Approximately 10 days later a sec-
g a u g e the severity o f PCS. T h e patient is asked to rate the ond investigator visited each patient at home and repeated the pro-
d e g r e e to w h i c h 16 P C S are m o r e o f a p r o b l e m c o m p a r e d cedure. The two investigators alternated between seeing patients
with p r e m o r b i d levels, using values f r o m 0 to 4. This aims on the first or second visit.
to o v e r c o m e the difficulties inherent in the finding that Total PCS scores were taken as the sum of all symptom scores
excluding ratings of 1 because these indicated that the symptoms
p o s t - c o n c u s s i o n - t y p e s y m p t o m s are r e p o r t e d b y a signifi- were unchanged from before the injury. Pilot investigations re-
cant m i n o r i t y o f p e o p l e w h o have h a d no h e a d injury vealed that the "Additional Symptoms" section of the RPQ was
w h a t s o e v e r [7, 16]. T h e s y m p t o m s listed on the R P Q are commonly used by subjects for problems relating to orthopaedic
those m o s t c o m m o n l y r e p o r t e d in the p u b l i s h e d literature injuries rather than to the head injury itself, This section was there-
fore not included in the total score.
as PCS. This report assesses the R P Q ' s reliability in two
ways. T h e first study i n v e s t i g a t e d the R P Q ' s test-retest re-
liability w h e n u s e d as a self-report questionnaire adminis- Results
tered b y patients themselves. T h e s e c o n d study investi-
g a t e d its inter-rater reliability w h e n used as a question- In the first study, the questionnaires were first c o m p l e t e d
naire a d m i n i s t e r e d b y two different clinicians. T h e spe- at a m e a n o f 8 days (SD 2.1; range 5 - 1 5 ) after injury and
589

Table 1 Reliability of individual post-concussion symptoms and 40


total symptom scores at 7-10 days after injury (self-administered)
and 6 months after injury (clinician-administered); (Rs Spearman ®
rank correlation coefficient; P < 0.001 for all correlation coeffi- ® @
cients) 30 ®
Time 7-10 Days 6 Months [][]
R~ Rs (~[] [] []
20 []
[]
Post-concussion symptoms
Headaches 0.79 0.84 B []
Feelings of dizziness 0.85 0.81 10
Nausea 0.72 0.58
Noise sensitivity 0.84 0.94
Sleep disturbance 0.80 0.68 0 i i i i 7
Fatigue 0.81 0.69 0 10 20 30 40 50
Being irritable 0.80 0.65 First PCS Score
Feeling depressed 0.57 0.60
Fig. 2 Scatterplot showing total PCS scores at 6 months after head
Feeling frustrated 0.50 0.66
injury (clinician-administered)
Forgetfulness 0.81 0.78
Poor concentration 0.81 0.78
Taking longer to think 0.70 0.56
range 3-34) later; 21 of the sample were first seen by in-
Blurred vision 0.74
vestigator 1 and 25 first seen by investigator 2.
Light sensitivity 0.91 0.70
Table 1 and Fig. 1 show that the total PCS score was
Double vision a 1.00
rated reliably at 7-10 days after injury; test-retest reliabil-
Restlessness 0.56 0.47
ity was high. Table 1 and Fig. 2 show that the total PCS
Total PCS score 0.90 0.87
score was also reliable when rated at 6 months by two dif-
a Too few patients to calculate the coefficients ferent investigators; inter-rater reliability was good.
In the first study (Fig. 1) the main outlying subject (cir-
cled) was one who first completed the questionnaire when
again at a mean of 1.6 days (SD 0.9; range 9 h to 4 days) convalescing at home and later when he had returned to
later. Twenty subjects had completed the questionnaire school. He was likely, therefore, to be under greater cog-
before being visited, and 21 returned a completed ques- nitive stress, which probably exacerbates PCS [21]. In the
tionnaire by post 24 h after being visited. In the second second study (Fig. 2) four of the six most prominent out-
study the questionnaires were first administered at a mean lying results (circled) were obtained in patients who ap-
of 6 months and 6 days (SD 10.6 days; range 5 months, 21 peared, at least clinically, to have been placed under in-
days to 7 months, 2 days) after injury. They were admin- creased stress between the two administrations of the
istered for a second time at a mean of 9 days (SD 5.3; questionnaire. This may also have exacerbated their
symptoms. For example, two of the subjects were con-
cerned about their job security, one having been demoted;
40 []
[] another subject's long-term relationship had ended and
one subject was concerned about forthcoming examina-
t..
tions and the loss of his job due to the sale of the family
[]
",,,,;, 30 []
business. However, no formal testing of stress was con-
[] ducted.
[]
Table 1 shows that in both studies individual symp-
20 o [] toms were reliably rated, although with some variation in
correlation coefficients; in general the strength of repro-
=e, °wa ducibility was similar in both studies. Significant coeffi-
10 [] [] cients exist for all the symptoms and were highest for
headaches, dizziness, noise sensitivity, forgetfulness and
[]m ~e poor concentration. The least consistently rated symptoms
0~ ,• . , I I I
were feeling depressed, feeling frustrated, taking longer to
0 10 20 30 40 50 think and restlessness.
Tables 2 and 3 show how many patients were still re-
First PCS Score
porting symptoms at second assessment, and whether
Fig. 1 Scatterplot showing total post-concussion symptoms (PCS) these had improved, worsened or stayed the same, for
scores at 7-10 days after head injury (self-administered) both the 7-10 day and 6-month follow-up. Also shown
590

Table 2 Prevalence of post-concussion symptoms at second as- c h a n g e the s y m p t o m s were m o r e frequently rated as less
sessment, 7-10 days after injury (n = 41); "same score" means severe, with the e x c e p t i o n o f concentration, sensitivity to
scoring the same at both first and second assessment
noise and restlessness. A t 6 months after injury f e w e r than
Sympto- Im- Worse Same score h a l f o f all subjects reported at least one s y m p t o m . Be-
matic proved (2-4) (0-1) t w e e n the two a s s e s s m e n t s at 6 months, there was no bias
t o w a r d s i m p r o v e m e n t in those who rated s y m p t o m s dif-
Symptom
ferently.
Fatigue 21 12 2 14 13
Headaches 19 14 2 11 14
Sleep disturbance 17 9 2 9 21
Poor concentration 15 2 4 10 25 Discussion
Being irritable 14 4 3 4 30
Taking longer to think 13 6 3 6 26 T h e results d e m o n s t r a t e that the R P Q is reliable in rating
Forgetfulness 12 7 2 6 26 a total PCS score, w h e t h e r used as a s e l f - a d m i n i s t e r e d or
Feeling frustrated 11 8 4 5 24 as a c l i n i c i a n - a d m i n i s t e r e d measure, early or late after
Feelings of dizziness 11 3 3 7 28 h e a d injury. T h e y also d e m o n s t r a t e that i n d i v i d u a l s y m p -
Noise sensitivity 10 2 5 4 30 toms are rated in a reliable m a n n e r under both e x p e r i m e n -
Restlessness 10 1 6 4 30 tal conditions. T h e consistency o f i n d i v i d u a l s y m p t o m
Feeling depressed 9 8 3 5 25 ratings varied. This was m o s t e v i d e n t in the s e c o n d study
Light sensitivity 8 4 1 5 3l and m i g h t b e attributable to the d e l a y b e t w e e n assess-
Nausea 5 5 1 4 31 ments in the s e c o n d study. Alternatively, it is p o s s i b l e that
Blurred vision 5 3 0 4 34 the slightly h i g h e r m e d i a n P T A of subjects in study 2
Double vision 0 1 0 0 40 m e a n s that they had s o m e w h a t m o r e severe h e a d injuries
than those in study 1.
Table 3 Prevalence of post-concussion symptoms at second as- It is also p o s s i b l e that the contribution o f e n v i r o n m e n -
sessment, 6 months after injury (n = 46); "same score" means scor- tal stressors to P C S is greater 6 months after injury than at
ing the same at both first and second assessment
7 - 1 0 days [15]. Patients are likely to have returned to
Sympto- Im- Worse Same score w o r k and r e s u m e d other responsibilities within their fam-
matic proved (2-4) (0-1) ilies. In addition, further stressful life events m a y have oc-
curred, such as court p r o c e e d i n g s in relation to the injury,
Symptom
Fatigue 22 7 8 12 19 other accidents, illnesses or difficulties at h o m e or work.
Being irritable 19 4 10 6 26 The pattern o f s y m p t o m s supports this suggestion. Fa-
Feeling frustrated 17 8 7 6 25 tigue r e m a i n s the m o s t c o m m o n l y r e p o r t e d s y m p t o m , but
Forgetfulness 16 7 8 4 27 difficulties with headaches and sleep b e c o m e less c o m m o n
Poor concentration 15 5 5 6 29 a while irritability and frustration b e c o m e m o r e c o m m o n .
Taking longer to think 13 8 8 3 27 D i s t u r b a n c e s o f v i s i o n and n a u s e a r e m a i n less c o m m o n l y
Feeling depressed 13 3 8 4 31 r e p o r t e d s y m p t o m s , but their incidence decreased, sug-
Sleep disturbance 12 5 5 5 31 gesting that somatic complaints are less prevalent 6 months
Noise sensitivity 10 5 1 4 36 after injury.
Feelings of dizziness 10 3 3 6 34 It is interesting to note that s y m p t o m s with h i g h e r and
Restlessness 8 9 4 1 32 l o w e r correlation coefficients at 7 - 1 0 days after head in-
Headaches 8 3 2 4 37 j u r y are g e n e r a l l y those that have h i g h e r and l o w e r coeffi-
Light sensitivity 7 5 3 3 35 cients r e s p e c t i v e l y 6 m o n t h s after h e a d injury. T h e m o s t
Double vision 2 0 1 1 43 a r e l i a b l y rated PCS were headaches, dizziness, noise sensi-
Nausea 1 3 0 0 43 tivity, forgetfulness and p o o r concentration. These s y m p -
Blurred vision 0 5 0 0 40 a toms are p r o b a b l y the m o s t easily and u n a m b i g u o u s l y
identifiable b y patients, and/or are the m o s t consistently
a One missing value from the data
e x p e r i e n c e d s y m p t o m s over time. Conversely, the least
r e l i a b l y r e p o r t e d PCS in b o t h situations, such as feeling
frustrated, feeling depressed, taking l o n g e r to think and
are h o w m a n y subjects r e p o r t e d no s y m p t o m s at either restlessness, are p r o b a b l y those that are e x p e r i e n c e d in a
assessment (i.e., rated items as 0 or 1). Tables 2 and 3 show m o r e v a r i a b l e m a n n e r o v e r time, and/or are less easy to
fatigue as the m o s t p r e v a l e n t s y m p t o m b o t h early and late identify. F o r e x a m p l e , there m a y be a difficulty in distin-
after injury and visual disturbance and n a u s e a as the least guishing b e t w e e n feeling frustrated and feeling depressed.
prevalent. A t early f o l l o w - u p m o r e than h a l f o f all sub- T h e h i g h e r reliability of the total P C S score c o m p a r e d
jects r e p o r t e d at least one s y m p t o m . O v e r the 24 h be- with the v a r i a b i l i t y o f i n d i v i d u a l s y m p t o m scores m a y re-
t w e e n the assessments, in those patients w h o r e p o r t e d flect a c o n s t a n c y in the overall subjective e x p e r i e n c e o f
591

P C S b y a patient regardless o f variation in specific s y m p - In conclusion, the R P Q is d e m o n s t r a b l y reliable both


toms. In other words, i n d i v i d u a l s y m p t o m s m a y substitute when s e l f - a d m i n i s t e r e d and c l i n i c i a n - a d m i n i s t e r e d . There
for each other o v e r time but leave the g e n e r a l level o f sub- are s o m e differences in the r e l i a b i l i t y o f i n d i v i d u a l s y m p -
j e c t i v e e x p e r i e n c e unchanged. It is clear that the total tom ratings, but these are b y no m e a n s significant enough
R P Q score is sufficiently reliable to be useful for both to detract from the q u e s t i o n n a i r e ' s overall robustness. It is
clinical and research p u r p o s e s as a general i n d i c a t i o n o f h o p e d that the instrument will p r o v i d e a m e a n s o f m e a -
severity. W e do not b e l i e v e that the differences in reliabil- suring PCS in a m o r e systematic and uniform m a n n e r than
ity in s o m e o f the i n d i v i d u a l s y m p t o m s are significant has been p o s s i b l e previously. A s such, its use b y clini-
e n o u g h to u n d e r m i n e the overall robustness o f the ques- cians and researchers is strongly encouraged.
tionnaire. H o w e v e r , it is p o s s i b l e that under certain cir-
c u m s t a n c e s (e.g. w h e n using rigorous research protocols) Acknowledgements We thank Mrs. Ann White for her secretarial
and administrative contribution to the paper, and the Department
s o m e researchers m a y be cautious w h e n using the R P Q to
of Health for funding the Oxford Head Injury Service as part of its
m e a s u r e the severity o f i n d i v i d u a l s y m p t o m s w h i c h h a v e Brain Injury initiative.
l o w e r reliability coefficients.
A n e x p e r i m e n t a l a s s e s s m e n t o f the q u e s t i o n n a i r e ' s va-
lidity is e x t r e m e l y difficult as there are few, if any, b e h a v -
ioural, p h y s i o l o g i c a l or n e u r o l o g i c a l correlates for the Appendix 1
s u b j e c t i v e l y e x p e r i e n c e d p h e n o m e n a o f PCS to be c o m -
p a r e d with. A c o m m o n v a l i d a t i o n criterion for h e a d injury After a head injury or accident some people experience symptoms
which can cause worry or nuisance. We would like to know if you
m e a s u r e s is PTA. A s p r e v i o u s l y m e n t i o n e d , h o w e v e r , this now suffer any of the symptoms given below. As many of these
is not a useful m e a s u r e once an injury has b e e n estab- symptoms occur normally, we would like you to compare yourself
lished as being o f m i l d or m o d e r a t e severity [29]. S o m e now with before the accident. For each one please circle the num-
neuropsychological measures of information processing ber closest to your answer.
and d i v i d e d attention, such as the P a c e d A u d i t o r y Serial 0 = Not experienced at all
A d d i t i o n Task [12] and the Stroop test [27], have s h o w n 1 = no more of a problem
2 = a mild problem
s o m e correlation with PCS [4, 5, l 1]. T h e r e f o r e one future
3 = a moderate problem
investigation of the R P Q ' s v a l i d i t y m a y b e its c o m p a r i s o n 4 = a severe problem
with such measures. Its v a l i d i t y should also be a s s e s s e d in
Compared with before the accident,
terms of the p s y c h o s o c i a l predictions that can b e m a d e do you now (i.e. over the last 24 hours) suffer from:
from the measure; does it p r e d i c t o u t c o m e ? To study this Headaches 0 1 2 3 4
firstly requires a sensitive and e c o l o g i c a l l y relevant m e a - Feelings of dizziness 0 1 2 3 4
sure o f p s y c h o s o c i a l functioning. M o s t m e a s u r e s u s e d to Nausea and/or vomiting 0 1 2 3 4
assess p s y c h o s o c i a l o u t c o m e following head injury have Noise sensitivity,
easily upset by loud noise 0 1 2 3 4
been d e s i g n e d for severe injuries. T h e y usually m e a s u r e Sleep disturbance 0 1 2 3 4
d i m e n s i o n s such as mobility, activities o f daily living, Fatigue, tiring more easily 0 1 2 3 4
w o r k level, social relationships and future prospects [14]. Being irritable, easily angered 0 1 2 3 4
Few, if any, are sensitive enough to gauge the m o r e subtle Feeling depressed or tearful 0 1 2 3 4
Feeling frustrated or impatient 0 1 2 3 4
difficulties e x p e r i e n c e d as a result o f m i l d and m o d e r a t e
Forgetfulness, poor memory 0 1 2 3 4
h e a d injury. S e c o n d l y a m e a n s o f controlling for extra- Poor concentration 0 1 2 3 4
neous variables likely to influence the scoring on such a Taking longer to think 0 1 2 3 4
measure is required. Both these criteria are likely to be dif- Blurred vision 0 1 2 3 4
ficult to meet. P r o b a b l y the most feasible m e t h o d of vali- Light sensitivity,
easily upset by bright light 0 1 2 3 4
dation will be heuristic reports of its utility b y clinicians in Double vision 0 1 2 3 4
the assessment and follow-up o f head injury. Its use in the Restlessness 0 1 2 3 4
systematic f o l l o w up o f head-injured patients b y the O X - Are you experiencing any other difficulties?
HIS certainly so far supports its clinical validity [21]. Its Please specify, and rate as above:
further use is therefore r e c o m m e n d e d in order that its clin- 1. 0 1 2 3 4
ical validity can be assessed m o r e extensively. 2. 0 1 2 3 4

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