1001. Athlete Care and Clinical Medicine - athlete medical evaluation and care Scientific Abstract

2844 - Between Trial Reliability Of The King Devick Test In Female High School Athletes

Abstract

National high-school injury-surveillance data has demonstrated the need for continued development of concussion-related safety programs. Of note, in directly-comparable sports, concussion-incidence rates are reported to be higher for female athletes. As such, medical personnel need valid-baseline assessments in order to best serve and protect athletes suspected to have a concussion. PURPOSE: To determine the between-trial reliability of the King-Devick Test (KD) as part of a pre-season concussion-safety program in young-female athletes. METHODS: Female high-school athletes (n = 28, aged 16 ± 1 years) completed electronic KD baseline assessment on hand-held tablets. Participants were required to complete two, error-free trials - reported to the nearest 0.0 s. Descriptive data for baseline attempts were computed, mean differences were examined via paired-samples one-tailed t-tests, Cohn’s d effect sizes were considered, and two-way mixed-effects intraclass correlations (ICC) were analyzed. RESULTS: The KD test showed strong reliability between trials (Trial 1 = 52.0 ± 7.7 s; Trial 2 = 49.8 ± 8.6 s; single-measure ICC = 0.83; 95% CI 0.66 - 0.92). Furthermore, excellent reliability was observed when KD scores were grouped by Best score and Worst score (Best = 48.7 ± 7.2 s; Worst = 53.2 ± 8.6 s; single-measure ICC = 0.94; 95% CI 0.87 - 0.97). Paired-samples t-test identified small or moderate differences between both pairings respectively (Trail 1 vs. Trial 2, p = 0.01, d = 0.27; Best vs. Worst, p < 0.001, d = 0.57). Most participants (75%) recorded their Best score on Trial 2. CONCLUSIONS: Strong-to-excellent reliability was observed among trials in this population of young-female athletes. However, these data demonstrate a need for further investigations that address the potential need for multiple baseline testing sessions in order for practitioners to best serve female, high-school athletes.
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