The Sports Neuropsychology Society (SNS) previously issued a statement in 2018 following the FDA’s 2-13-2018 announcement regarding a blood test that allows for the detection of bleeding into the brain in cases of traumatic brain injury (“FDA authorizes marketing of first blood test to aid in the evaluation of concussion in adults” https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-marketing-first-blood-test-aid-evaluation-concussion-adults). The SNS pointed out that the test could not be used to detect “concussion” per se, but rather was used to detect bleeding in the brain, which is actually uncommon in concussion. More recently, Abbott issued a press release on 1-11-2021 presenting this as a rapid blood test for “concussion” (https://abbott.mediaroom.com/2021-01-11-Abbott-Receives-FDA-510-k-Clearance-for-the-First-Rapid-Handheld-Blood-Test-for-Concussions), and we feel this merits another clarification. As we previously stated, the use of blood-based biomarkers helps to predict whether a patient (typically in the ER) who has experienced a traumatic head injury would benefit from a CT scan to detect whether there is bleeding in the brain. Although the use of these biomarkers may help reduce the number of unnecessary CT scans, it does not determine whether a concussion has occurred, as this remains a clinical diagnosis.
