SCAT2

Sport Concussion Assesment Tool 2

The Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 3 (SCAT3) supersedes the original SCAT and the SCAT2 published in 2005 and 2009, respectively.

The Sport Concussion Library will maintain the SCAT2 site, however it is suggested that SCAT3 be utilized, as it is the tool approved and published in the recent November 2012 Consensus statement on concussion in sport from the 4th International Conference on Concussion in Sport.

What is the SCAT2

This tool represents a standardized method of evaluating injured athletes for concussion and can be used in athletes aged from 10 years and older. It supersedes the original SCAT published in 2005. This tool also enables the calculation of the Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC), score and the Maddocks questions for sideline concussion assessment.

Instructions for using the SCAT2

The SCAT2 is designed for the use of medical and health professionals. Preseason baseline testing with the SCAT2 can be helpful for interpreting post-injury test scores. Words in Italics throughout the SCAT2 are the instructions given to the athlete by the tester.

This tool may be freely copied for distribtion to individuals, teams, groups and organizations.

What is a concussion?

A concussion is a disturbance in brain function caused by a direct or indirect force to the head. It results in a variety of nonspecific symptoms (like those listed below) and often does not involve loss of consciousness. Concussion should be suspected in the presence of any one or more of the following:
• Symptoms (such as headache), or
• Physical signs (such as unsteadiness), or
• Impaired brain function (e.g. confusion) or
• Abnormal behaviour.