The symptomatic presentation of males and females, most notably the prevalence of specific symptoms, is very divergent. Females had higher total symptom scores at baseline and post-concussion, however, clinically this cannot be interpreted as a meaningful difference. It is possible that these differences can be explained by normal hormonal changes associated with the menstrual cycle. The implications of these findings are that symptomatic presentation during an individual female's menstrual cycle needs to be taken into consideration post-concussion when making return-to-play decisions, as returning to a completely asymptomatic level may not be a reasonable expectation.

Physical therapists must screen all individuals who have experienced a potential concussive event and document the presence or absence of symptoms, impairments, and functional limitations that may relate to a concussive event. Screening for Indicators of Emergency ConditionsA Physical therapists must screen patients who have experienced a recent potential concussive event for signs of medical emergency or severe pathology (eg, more serious brain injury, medical conditions, or cervical spine injury) that warrant further evaluation by other health care providers. Referral for further evaluation should be made as indicated (FIGURE 1). Differential DiagnosisA Physical therapists must evaluate for potential signs and symptoms of an undiagnosed concussion in patients who have experienced a concussive event but have not been diagnosed with concussion. Evaluation should include triangulation of information from patient/family/witness reports, the patient's past medical history, physical observation/examination, and the use of an age-appropriate symptom scale/checklist (see FIGURE 1 for diagnostic criteria).

Outcome measure scores are strong predictors of discharge destination among patients with stroke and provide an objective means of early discharge planning. Discharge decisions should be made with consideration for patient-specific biopsychosocial factors that may supersede isolated results of the outcome measures, and further research needs to assess the success of the location that a patient is referred at discharge.Video Abstract available for more insights from the authors (see Video, Supplemental Digital Content 1, http://links.lww.com/JNPT/A194).