Rugby head injuries "could soon be determined by a simple saliva test" in a potentially "game-changing" breakthrough for the sport, according to Owen Slot of the LONDON TIMES. The test, which is being trialed at every game in Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Football Union Championship this season, "would remove subjective opinion from head-injury diagnosis, which has become a subject of much contention." A player who has a "suspected head injury" will provide 2ml of saliva and, "within ten minutes, they can be declared injured or fit to carry on." If the trial is successful, from next season a handheld device "could be all that is required to test for a concussion." Last season, "a number of players, most notably" Wales int'l George North, were "allowed to play on despite suffering apparent head injuries." RFU Chief Medical Officer Simon Kemp said that this saliva test "could be a game-changer." He added, "This is one of the Holy Grails in concussion management. We are testing a really novel and exciting hypothesis." If successful, the test would also be used in club and school rugby where, "in recent seasons, confidence in the safety of the game has started to slide." There are expected to be around 200 concussions in the Premiership and Championship this season. They will all be treated with the same head injury assessment protocol as last season, "but the saliva test will also be carried out" (LONDON TIMES, 8/30). In London, Jack Austin reported players will provide urine samples, as well as saliva samples, during the new campaign. Premiership Rugby Head of Elite Performance & Player Development Corin Palmer said, "We are keen to give it our full support." Kemp added, "There is currently no reliable or proven biomarker or objective test for the diagnosis of concussion and this lack of objectivity is the biggest challenge facing medical professional in dealing with this type of injury" (INDEPENDENT, 8/30).
COMMENTARY: In London, Slot wrote rugby is a sport that is "increasingly dogged by doubts over whether it can be regarded as a safe and healthy recreation." Research being tested this season in England "may deliver a hugely important scientific breakthrough that will indicate whether or not a player is fit to play." The HIA protocol is "regarded by some experts in the field as best possible practice and others as unfit for purpose." Dr. Barry O'Driscoll resigned as a medical adviser to World Rugby "because of it." The flaw in the HIA is that it "has always been subjective." Concerns over head injuries have "grown rapidly in club and school rugby up and down" the U.K. Kemp said that the lack of an objective diagnosis has been "a real limitation." Kemp: "Everybody is looking to progress an objective assessment" (LONDON TIMES, 8/30).
