618 - Utility Of An Objective Oculomotor Tracking Tool After Multidirectional High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT-MD) in Predicting Clearance with Return-to-Play (RTP) and Return-to-Work (RTW) Protocols in Concussion Patients

Return-to-work (RTP) and return-to-play (RTW) protocols continue to be refined and established for athletes and individuals of all ages. Tools such as objective oculomotor tracking testing (OOTT) may offer additional metrics to determine readiness for clearance testing. This study aims to investigate OOTT’s role as an objective marker of clearance readiness. 

Design:

Retrospective study of 63 concussion patients aged 8-48. All patients passed multi-directional high-intensity interval training (HIIT-MD) exertional testing as determined by a concussion specialist. Patients also completed OOTT in which they follow a moving video with their eyes and a machine generates a summary score based on the patient’s ability to track the visual. 

Results:

The HIIT-MD step tolerance/passing was correlated to the OOTT summary score and the p-value was determined. Thus, the HIIT-MD exit/clearance protocol negatively correlated with the OOTT summary score, with a correlation coefficient of -0.03657 and a p-value of 0.776. 

Conclusions:

There is a weak negative correlation that does not quite present with statistical significance. However, such a trend aligns with what is seen clinically and suggests a trend towards significance. It is unclear whether the summary score could provide clinical utility in determining readiness for RTP and RTW protocosl. Regardless, objective oculomotor tracking testing may have utility as an additional metric for RTP/RTW decision-making in concussion patients. Further investigation with a larger sample size will be needed to draw definitive conclusions. A greater number of participants will be necessary to draw more definitive conclusions.