A person who suffers from a concussion often has great difficulties getting a definitive diagnosis unless the concussion is severe. Generally, a person who suffered a hit to the head is placed on concussion restrictions and monitoring protocol, which often includes keeping an eye on the person and symptoms at home. That strategy for treating people who seek medical care for a hit to the head might be changing.

A new study reveals that a simple blood test might be able to definitively diagnose concussions in people up to a week post-injury. The blood test looks for several biomarkers that would indicate that a person suffered from a concussion. One of these biomarkers is the presence of a protein that can be found in the blood up to a week after the injury occurs.

The study was done on just under 600 patients. Around half of these patients suffered from injuries not related to the head and the other half suffered mild concussions that occurred during sports activities, motor vehicle accidents, and falls. Initial blood work was taken approximately four hours after the injury and then at specific periods during the seven days post-injury. The blood work showed that there were two protein levels that were higher in the concussion patients than in the other patients.

While this blood test is probably a few years from becoming a mainstream diagnostic tool for concussions, it does hold promise. For those who suffer from a brain injury now, going through the current treatment protocol is necessary. Anyone who suffers a brain injury at the hands of another person, even if negligence was the cause, might choose to seek compensation to help cover the damages.

Source: NBC News, “More Evidence Blood Test May Detect Concussions,” March 28, 2016