Objectives

The growing concern over player safety and long-term health effects of sport-related concussion (SRC) led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to implement the medical observer, whose primary job is to identify SRCs not seen by sideline medical staff. The primary aim of this survey was to determine if the MO identifies SRCs the sideline medical staff missed during gameplay.

Methods

The authors distributed a 19-item questionnaire to all ACC athletic departments that assessed for SRCs or non-concussion injuries that were detected by the MO during the 2015–2016 ACC football season.

Results

Nineteen MOs completed the survey accounting for coverage of 56% of the total halves played by all ACC teams. A call to the field for concerns of an SRC carried a significantly higher risk of SRC diagnosis than no call to the field (RR 400.1, CI 244.6–654.1, P < .001). Four SRCs were identified by an MO that were not seen by the sideline medical staff.

Conclusions

The MO detects SRCs that are not seen by the sideline medical staff. The survey also showed many ACC teams used the MO as a secondary injury observer. Each MO should be provided with the best available tools, communication, and viewing angles.

中文翻译：

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美式橄榄球的医学观察者：使用情况和功效调查。

目标

对与运动相关的脑震荡（SRC）的球员安全和长期健康影响的日益关注促使大西洋海岸会议（ACC）部署了医疗观察员，其主要工作是确定副医务人员看不到的SRC。这项调查的主要目的是确定MO是否识别游戏过程中遗漏的旁观医疗人员的SRC。

方法

作者向所有ACC运动部门分发了一份19项调查问卷，评估了MO在2015–2016 ACC足球赛季期间检测到的SRC或非脑震荡伤害。

结果

19个MO完成了调查，占所有ACC团队参与的总半数的56％。致电SRC关注现场要比没有致电进行SRC诊断的风险要高得多（RR 400.1，CI 244.6–654.1，P <.001）。MO确认了四个SRC，副业医护人员未看到这四个SRC。

结论

MO检测到辅助医疗人员看不到的SRC。调查还显示，许多ACC团队将MO用作次要伤害观察员。应该为每个MO提供最佳的可用工具，通信和视角。