Farzaneh Shobeirian1, Zahra Ghomi2, Reza Soleimani3, Reza Mirshahi4, Morteza Sanei Taheri5. 1. Department of Radiology, Razi Hospital, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. 2. Department of Radiology, Shohada-e-Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. zgh1881@gmail.com. 3. Department of Radiology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. 4. Eye Research Center, The Five Senses Institute, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 5. Department of Radiology, Shohada-e-Tajrish Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: CT scan is crucial in evaluating head trauma. However, its inappropriate use will cause unnecessary radiation exposure to patient and financial burden to health systems. Our aim is appraising amount of brain CT scans performed in our Emergency Department (ED) for evaluating mild head trauma which are not indicated according to four standardized guidelines as well as analyzing contributing factors. METHODS: This was a descriptive prospective study. We included randomly selected adult patients under 75 years old with minor head trauma evaluated by brain CT scan at our ED. For all patients, we completed a checklist including demographic data, mechanism of trauma, specialty of the requesting physician, and whether the patient meets the brain CT guidelines criteria. Brain CT overuse was defined as scans performed for patients without criteria of any of the standardized guidelines. RESULTS: We evaluated 170 patients. The mean age of patients was 38.38 ± 19.73 years old. The most common mechanism of trauma was falling (37.6%). The overall brain CT scan overuse was 15.3%. Most of the overused scans were performed in younger patients, and patient's age was inversely correlated to overuse. There was no significant difference based on the mechanism of trauma and the specialty of requesting physician. DISCUSSION: Our study accentuates the high frequency of brain CT scan overuse, leading to unnecessary radiation exposure and financial burden on healthcare systems. We emphasize that using a guideline for requesting brain CT scan can eliminate unnecessary scans along with detecting patients with important decisive damages.
INTRODUCTION: CT scan is crucial in evaluating head trauma. However, its inappropriate use will cause unnecessary radiation exposure to patient and financial burden to health systems. Our aim is appraising amount of brain CT scans performed in our Emergency Department (ED) for evaluating mild head trauma which are not indicated according to four standardized guidelines as well as analyzing contributing factors. METHODS: This was a descriptive prospective study. We included randomly selected adult patients under 75 years old with minor head trauma evaluated by brain CT scan at our ED. For all patients, we completed a checklist including demographic data, mechanism of trauma, specialty of the requesting physician, and whether the patient meets the brain CT guidelines criteria. Brain CT overuse was defined as scans performed for patients without criteria of any of the standardized guidelines. RESULTS: We evaluated 170 patients. The mean age of patients was 38.38 ± 19.73 years old. The most common mechanism of trauma was falling (37.6%). The overall brain CT scan overuse was 15.3%. Most of the overused scans were performed in younger patients, and patient's age was inversely correlated to overuse. There was no significant difference based on the mechanism of trauma and the specialty of requesting physician. DISCUSSION: Our study accentuates the high frequency of brain CT scan overuse, leading to unnecessary radiation exposure and financial burden on healthcare systems. We emphasize that using a guideline for requesting brain CT scan can eliminate unnecessary scans along with detecting patients with important decisive damages.
Entities:
Keywords:
CT scan; Indication; Minor head injury; Traumatic brain injury
Authors: Edward R Melnick; Christopher M Szlezak; Suzanne K Bentley; James D Dziura; Simon Kotlyar; Lori A Post Journal: Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf Date: 2012-11
Authors: Abdulaziz Alalshaikh; Bader Alyahya; Mohammed Almohawes; Mosaed Alnowiser; Mohammed Ghandour; Mohammed Alyousef; Fahad Abuguyan; Abdulaziz Almehlisi; Fawaz Altuwaijri; Mohammed Alageel Journal: Open Access Emerg Med Date: 2022-04-26