Search Methodology

To access the full published Living Concussion Guidelines protocol, click on the following link: Protocol for a living systematic review for the management of concussion in adults 

In brief, a systematic review is being conducted to provide supporting evidence. Searches will be conducted at minimum every 6 months using the following databases: MEDLINE ALL, EMBASE, Cochrane, PsycInfo and CINAHL. So far, building on the Guideline for Concussion/Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Persistent Symptoms: 3rd Edition, we have searched for literature published from May 2017 to the end of December 2023. 

The full search strategy for the MEDLINE ALL database is provided below as an example:

  1. exp Brain Concussion/
  2. Post-Concussion Syndrome/
  3. (concuss* or postconcuss*).tw,kw.
  4. commotio cerebri.tw,kw.
  5. ((post commotion or post head injury) adj2 syndrome*).tw.
  6. ((mild or minor or minimal) adj3 (traumatic brain or tbi)).tw.
  7. ((tbi or traumatic brain injur*) adj3 symptom*).tw.
  8. mtbi.tw,kw. or mild traumatic brain injur*.kw. or minor traumatic brain injur*.kw. or minimal traumatic brain injur*.kw.
  9. (brain injur* and rehabilitat*).ti. or Brain Injuries/rh or "Brain Injuries, Traumatic"/rh
  10. Craniocerebral Trauma/co
  11. exp Brain Injuries/ or Craniocerebral Trauma/ or Head Injuries, Closed/
  12. ((following or after or post or persistent or unresolved or delayed or prolong*) adj4 (brain or skull or head or injur*)).tw. not (((severe or moderate) adj2 (head or brain or traumatic or tbi)) not (mild or minor)).ti.
  13. (following or after or post or persistent or unresolved or delayed or prolong*).tw. and (headache/ or exp headache disorders/)
  14. 11 and (12 or 13)
  15. or/1-10,14
  16. brain injuries/ or brain injuries, traumatic/ or Craniocerebral Trauma/ or Head Injuries, Closed/
  17. Post-Traumatic Headache/
  18. exp Sleep Wake Disorders/
  19. exp Mental Disorders/
  20. dizziness/ or vision disorders/
  21. Fatigue/
  22. Return to Work/ or Return to Sport/
  23. Memory Disorders/ or amnesia/
  24. cognition disorders/ or cognitive dysfunction/
  25. or/17-24
  26. 16 and 25
  27. (brain injur* adj3 (headache* or cognitive disorder* or sleep disorder* or memory or amnesia or insomnia or mental disorder* or dizziness or vision disorder* or fatigue or "return to work" or "Return to Sport" or psychiatric symptom* or ptsd or post traumatic stress or depression or sleep problem* or cognitive dysfunction)).tw.
  28. 26 or 27
  29. 15 or 28
  30. exp animals/ not humans/
  31. (exp child/ or exp infant/) not exp adult/
  32. ((child* or infant* or pediatric* or paediatric*) not adult*).ti.
  33. or/30-32
  34. 29 not 33
  35. limit 34 to english language
  36. (201706* or 201707* or 201708* or 201709* or 20171* or 2018* or 2019* or 2020*).dt.
  37. 35 and 36