Follow-up computed tomography requirement of pediatric head trauma patients with abnormal imaging findings.

Follow-up computed tomography requirement of pediatric head trauma patients with abnormal imaging findings.

World Neurosurg. 2019 Jan 21;:

Authors: Yilmaz H, Yilmaz O

Abstract
AIM: We investigated the pediatric patients who presented with isolated head trauma to the emergency service and where abnormal findings were detected on brain computed tomography to evaluate the follow-up scan rate and whether the follow-up scans affect the treatment protocol.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Pediatric patients who presented to the emergency service between 2014 and 2017 with isolated head trauma and were later found to have abnormal findings on CT were evaluated. The patients were evaluated in terms of age, gender, pediatric Glasgow coma score at the emergency service, the trauma mechanism and abnormal findings on CT. We also documented whether follow-up CT altered the treatment decision in patients as to whether they underwent surgery or received conservative treatment.
RESULTS: The 105 head trauma patients with abnormal findings on CT consisted of 58 males (55.2%) and 47 females (44.8%). After the first brain CT examination, 5 (4.7%) of the patients underwent emergency surgery. For patients with linear fractures, the follow-up CT number was 2.3. For patients with linear fractures, vomiting was found to be a symptom with statistical meaning as a sign of additional cranial pathology compared to headache, drowsiness and irritability. A total of 280 follow-up CTs with a mean number of 2.66 per patient were performed.
CONCLUSION: Follow-up CT for patients with abnormal findings on the initial CT after head trauma does not influence the decision to choose clinical observation or surgery except in patients with neurological deterioration.

PMID: 30677573 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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