Post-concussion syndrome
Though no universally accepted definition of postconcussive syndrome exists, most of the literature defines the syndrome as the development of at least 3 of the following symptoms: headache, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, impaired memory and concentration, insomnia, and lowered tolerance for noise and light. One complication in diagnosis is that symptoms of PCS also occur in people who have no history of head injury, but who have other medical and psychological complaints. In one study 64% of people with TBI, 11% of those with brain injuries, and 7% of those with other injuries met the DSM-IV criteria for post-concussion syndrome. Many of these PCS sufferers were misdiagnosed as having other unrelated conditions due to commonality of symptoms. (see diagnosis, below).
British Columbia Postconcussion Symptom Inventory
The British Columbia Postconcussion Symptom Inventory (BC-PSI), is a 16 item self-report inventory designed to measure both the frequency, and intensity of the ICD-10 criteria for Post concussion syndrome, which is a common occurrence in cases of mild traumatic brain injury. The (BC-PSI) asks the respondent to rate the severity of 13 symptoms rated on a six-point Likert-type rating scale that measures the frequency and intensity of each symptom in the past two weeks.
The two ratings are multiplied (how often × how bad) to create a single score for each item. These product-based scores are then converted to item scores that reflect both the frequency and intensity of symptom endorsement (range = 0–4).
Item product scores convert to item total scores: 0–1 = 0, 2–3 = 1, 4–6 = 2, 8–12 = 3, and 15+ = 4.