Recommendations

Document Overview

Design and created by Guideline Central in participation with the Veterans Health Administration / Department of Defense.

Concussion-mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Veterans Health Administration / Department of Defense

Publication Date: Jan 1, 2016

Page Last Updated: May 5, 2026

Strength of Recommendations in GRADE

Strength	Interpretation	Implications for clinicians	Implications for policymakers
Strong for	Almost all informed patients would choose to receive the intervention	Should be accepted by most patients to whom it is offered	Should be adopted as policy
Weak for	Most informed patients would choose the intervention, but a sizable minority would not	Large role for education and shared decision-making	Requires stakeholder engagement and discussion
Weak against	Most informed patients would not choose the intervention, but a small minority would	Large role for education and shared decision-making	Requires stakeholder engagement and discussion
Strong against	Most patients should not receive the intervention	Should not be offered to patients	Should be adopted as policy

Document Overview

Document Title: Management of Concussion-Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Authoring Society: Veterans Health Administration / Department of Defense

Endorsing Society: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Document Publication Date: Jan 1, 2016

Page Last Reviewed/Updated: May 5, 2026

Document Type: Guideline

Country of Publication: United States

Full Text Freely Available: Yes

Full Text Guideline: www.healthquality.va.gov/guidelines/Rehab/mtbi/trifectamTBIProviderToolFinal26Dec2021508c.pdf

Supplemental Implementation Resources

Document Scope, Criteria, and Use Cases

Scope: Assessment and Screening, Diagnosis, Management, Treatment

Diseases/Conditions (MeSH)

D001924 - Brain Concussion

Keywords: Neurological deficits, concussion, mild-traumatic brain injury, posttraumatic amnesia

Inclusion Criteria: Male, Female, Adolescent, Adult, Older Adult

Health Care Settings: Ambulatory, Emergency Care, Hospital

Intended Users: MRI Technologist, Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Physician, Physician Assistant, Social Worker

Recommendation Development Processes & Methodology

Number of Source Documents: 136

Literature Search Start Date: Saturday, March 1, 2008

Literature Search End Date: Sunday, March 1, 2015

Includes peer/external review process?: Yes

Includes public comment process?: No

Methodologist involvement?: Yes

Patient involvement?: No

Includes multi-disciplinary group?: Yes

Includes systematic review?: Yes

Grades quality of strength of evidence?: Yes

Grades quality of strength of recommendation?: Yes

Discloses funding source?: Yes

Discloses conflicts of interest?: Yes

Includes benefits/harms analysis with recommendations?: No

Concussion-mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Recommendations

Diagnosis and Assessment

Co-occurring Conditions

Treatment

Effect of mTBI Etiology on Treatment Options and Outcomes

Headache

Dizziness and Disequilibrium

Tinnitus

Visual Symptoms

Sleep Disturbance

Behavioral Symptoms

Cognitive Symptoms

Setting of Care

Strength of Recommendations in GRADE

Document Overview

Supplemental Implementation Resources

Document Scope, Criteria, and Use Cases

Recommendation Development Processes & Methodology