Pre-participation physical evaluations for athletes

Abstract

The pre-participation physical evaluation helps keep athletes safe. This article discusses the essential components of the PPE history and physical. Findings that should prompt further evaluation of the athlete, including those consistent with risk for sudden cardiac death, are discussed.

Variability in Institutional Screening Practices Related to Collegiate Student-Athlete Mental Health

“…[26][27][28][29] Increasingly, the PPE is being acknowledged as an important tool for screening and referral related to a wider range of health problems, including mental health disorders. [26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33] The National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) has previously suggested that between-institutions disparities in the PPE can result in inadequate protection of the health and safety of all student-athletes and encouraged the medical community to adopt a standardized and validated PPE instrument. 30 This is not just a concern for US collegiate athletes: a similar concern about worldwide variability in PPE content was recently raised in a consensus statement 27 by the American College of Sports Medicine and the Fédération Internationale de Médécine du Sport.…”