Table 1

Summary of each section of the Emergency Department Concussion Assessment Tool

Section	Name	Summary	Maximum score	How scoring works
1	Patient details/background	Identifies cause, time and date of injury and any risk factors for delayed recovery such as previous concussions.	–	–
2	Orientation	Assesses patients’ orientation to time and date. One point given for each correct answer.	5	Higher score indicates better orientation.
3	Immediate memory	Asks patient to remember and say five words, which are read out to them three times. One point given for each word remembered.	15	Higher score indicates better memory.
4	Symptom screen	Assesses number of symptoms and severity of each symptom experienced, out of 6, by the patient and if these are worse during physical or mental activity.	Number of symptoms=22. Symptom severity score=132.	Higher score indicates more severe symptoms.
5	Balance examination	Assesses patients’ ability to stand on both feet, on just their weaker foot and in a tandem stance with their eyes closed and hands on hips for 10 s, as well as performing tandem gait over 3 m. Patients given a score out of 10 for each exercise and docked a point for each error made.	40	Higher score indicates better balance.
6	Delayed recall	Asks patient to recall the five words repeated to them during the immediate memory section. One point given for each word remembered.	5	Higher score indicates better memory.