Prevention of traumatic headache, dizziness and fatigue with creatine administration. A pilot study

Sakellaris G

Published in Acta Paediatrica

Methodology

Open-label randomised pilot in children/adolescents with TBI given oral creatine 0.4 g/kg daily for 6 months versus no supplement, with monthly assessment of headache, dizziness, fatigue and other post-traumatic symptoms.

Key Findings

In 39 children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury, oral creatine 0.4 g/kg daily for six months reduced the incidence and duration of post-traumatic headache, dizziness and fatigue compared with controls, with fatigue and dizziness essentially abolished in the creatine group over follow-up.

Conclusions

Creatine administration after paediatric traumatic brain injury reduced common post-concussive symptoms in a small open pilot, a striking result that needs blinded replication.

Limitations

Small, non-blinded pilot with control group not receiving placebo, symptom endpoints reported by children and parents, single centre, and no biochemical or imaging confirmation of mechanism.