Article Text
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Scenario
An 11-year-old boy is struck by a car and sustains an acquired brain injury (ABI). He is admitted with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 6/15. Cranial imaging reveals evidence of diffuse injury. Approximately 12 months later following discharge, the patient is seen for a planned review. The patient and his family report poor attention with hyperactive and impulsive behaviours. The school has reported to parents that there has been a change in his ability to concentrate at school and he is being disruptive in class. This represents a clear departure from the patient's preinjury behaviour. Parental and school management of this concerning conduct is structured and consistent. You have heard that stimulant medication may be of benefit in managing difficulties with attention, hyperactivity and impulsivity (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) type behaviours) following an ABI.
Structured clinical question
For children with an acquired brain injury [patient], does the administration of stimulant medication [intervention] help address inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity [outcomes]?
Search strategy and outcome
Secondary sources
The Cochrane Library (including Cochrane Reviews, Database of Abstracts of Review of Effects and Clinical Trials) was searched.
Primary sources
Using a combination of subject headings and keyword terms, an advanced search was conducted of AMED (1985–present), BIOSIS Previews (1969–present), CAB Abstracts (1910–present), EMBASE (1947–present), Medline (1950–present), PsycINFO (1806–present), CINAHL (1981–present), Google Scholar, Global Health (1973–present) and Conference Papers Index for conference proceedings (1982–present).
Search terms
Search terms (designed for Medline and tailored accordingly for other sources) were: (exp Brain Injuries/OR Brain Neoplasms/ OR brain adj2 injur* …
Footnotes
Linked articles: archdischild-2011-301116, archdischild-2012-302179, archdischild-2012-302183
Competing interests None.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.