Ep 6: The Living Guideline for Pediatric Concussion with Dr Roger Zemek

With kids and concussions, assessing and managing the injury gets a little tricky, so Concussion Central decided to call in an expert for the podcast today.  

We’re talking to Dr. Roger Zemek, a passionate and enthusiastic emergency room doctor and the director of the Clinical Research Unit at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. And he is one of the leads on the Living Guideline for Pediatric Concussion, an evergreen, curated source of information for doctors, parents, coaches, teachers and more on assessing and managing children’s concussions.  

We ask Dr. Zemek what makes pediatric concussions different from adult injuries. How do parents and caregivers manage concussions when the patient may be too small to communicate what they’re feeling or experiencing? How do doctors even assess children as they mature quickly over such a short period? How do you know if your child is getting better, and when should we start to worry?

Dr. Zemek, and his team at CHEO, provide much-needed curation of the latest information about pediatric concussions, allowing doctors to stay up to date on best practices even as the information on this injury is evolving exponentially. The Living Guidelines primarily help front-line health care providers, like family physicians and emergency room doctors (remember, most concussions are diagnosed or even assessed in the emergency). The new online format also ensures everyone is on the same page – from doctors to coaches and parents. 

David and Dr. Zemek review new data on pediatric concussions, such as new evidence on how a concussion can affect a child’s mental health and the importance of finding the right way to return to school, with play and social time now recognized as vital to a good recovery.

They discuss risk management and risk tolerance in returning to sports, especially after multiple concussions – driving home the importance of a tailored plan and the powerful effect of exercise on your child’s recovery. 

They also talk about the role of injury prevention in avoiding concussions, highlighting work out of the University of Calgary and Parachute Canada. 

Finally, David asks Dr. Zemek about his history with concussions and his ‘why’?  Dr. Zemek is an enthusiastic guest, but the story behind why his work has focused on this particular injury is powerful and one to which all caregivers can relate.  

As well as his roles at CHEO mentioned above, Dr Zemek is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine and the Clinical Research Chair in Pediatric Concussion, both at the University of Ottawa. He chairs the Pediatric Emergency Research Canada (PERC) Network; is the Scientific Director and Lead of Pediatric Care for 360 Concussion Care.

Concussion Central is produced by Explore Podcast Productions.

For more on the work of Concussion Central, visit our website: concussioncentral.ca