Objective:(1) To determine the reliability of the King–Devick (KD) test among wheelchair basketball athletes across a season and (2) to compare the KD test time changes among those with and without a clinically suspected concussion.Design:Prospective, observational study.Setting:Division 3 college athletics department.Participants:Twenty-nine intercollegiate wheelchair basketball athletes.Interventions:Athletes were prospectively monitored for concussions throughout the 2018 to 2019 season. King–Devick testing was completed preseason, midseason, postseason, and after clinically suspected concussions.Main Outcome Measures:Two-way random effects intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was calculated. Friedman's test and pairwise comparison with Bonferroni correction were used to compare for change over time. Mean KD times and changes were compared between athletes with and without suspected concussion.Results:The KD test demonstrated good test–retest reliability (ICC = 0.826). Among participants without a concussion, there was a significant decrease in the mean KD test time from preseason to midseason (−3.3 seconds; P = 0.0167) and preseason to postseason (−3.3 seconds; P = 0.0167). No change was seen from mid-to-post season. Six athletes had 7 suspected concussions. Each demonstrated an increase in the KD test time, with a mean increase from 44.3 ± 9.5 seconds to 53.7 ± 12.8 seconds. King–Devick test times returned to or below baseline by postseason.Conclusions:The KD test shows good reliability among wheelchair basketball athletes without a concussion. A learning effect is demonstrated initially but plateaus on subsequent testing. Unlike athletes without a concussion, players with a clinically suspected concussion showed an increase in the KD test time.

Background Studies have revealed a higher incidence of injury and illness among elite adaptive athletes when compared to non‐disabled athletes in the Paralympics and Olympics. However, sport‐specific health care incidence rates and patterns outside of the Paralympics have been poorly described. To date, there are no prospective studies focused on injury or illness rates among intercollegiate wheelchair basketball players. Objective To determine the incidence of sports‐related injuries and illnesses among men's and women's intercollegiate wheelchair basketball teams throughout a season. We hypothesized that injury rates among the intercollegiate wheelchair basketball players would be similar to or greater than those of previously published National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) nondisabled basketball players and that injuries would most commonly affect the upper extremities. Design Prospective surveillance study. Setting Men's and women's intercollegiate wheelchair basketball teams in Arlington, Texas. Participants Twenty‐eight (14 male, 14 female) of the 29 (15 male, 14 female) eligible adult athletes playing on an intercollegiate men's or women's wheelchair basketball team during the 2018‐2019 season. Interventions Completion of a repeatable, electronic, web‐app injury and illness survey during the season, as well as separate pre‐ and post‐season injury and illness surveys. Main Outcome Measures Injury rates throughout the season based on athlete‐exposures and relative risk (RR) of injury of intercollegiate wheelchair basketball players compared to NCAA nondisabled basketball players. Description of onset, location, diagnosis, medical evaluation, and missed time from sport related to injuries and illnesses. Results Sixty‐two health‐related incidents, including 48 injuries and 14 illnesses, were prospectively reported during the season. Overall injury incidence rates were 12.2 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 7.4 to 17.4) and 13.1 (95% CI 7.8 to 18.4) injuries per 1000 athlete‐exposures among male and female athletes, respectively. These equated to RRs of 1.53 (95% CI 1.03 to 2.27) (male) and 2.01 (95% CI 1.34 to 3.02) (female) when compared to the rates published previously on NCAA nondisabled basketball players, indicating a statistically significant increase in injury risk. Injuries most commonly involved the upper extremities (56.3%). Illnesses commonly involved the gastrointestinal (35.7%) or respiratory (21.4%) systems. Conclusions This is the first prospective study to report incidence of sports‐related injuries and illnesses throughout an intercollegiate wheelchair basketball season. Overall injury rates reported were higher than prior NCAA nondisabled intercollegiate basketball reports. This reinforces the need to establish an accessible network of health care support and injury prevention strategies for these athletes.

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