text_1: A brain injury diagnosed with a single drop of blood
text_2: This news release describes a device that uses a drop of blood to rapidly rule out the possibility of a mild traumatic brain injury following a blow to the head. The goal is to avoid unnecessary medical exams and CT scans. The research behind the device, which is similar to a pregnancy stick test, was published in PLOS One. The news release relates that the test will be marketed next year and allows that the test is not 100% reliable. However, it oversimplifes how concussions are diagnosed, doesn’t give cost data, and relies on some sensational language. Most importantly, it skirts the lack of evidence that patients who use this device will have better outcomes or lower costs than those who don’t. We’d all like to see better ways to diagnose the millions of concussions that occur each year. But it’s a complicated business, and there’s danger in oversimplifying the clinical decision-making process as companies rush to market devices that haven’t been rigorously tested in clinical trials. People who take such blood tests, or give them to a child, should know that they might be at risk of false assurances that could prematurely put injured people back on a playing field.