Head CT overuse in children with a mild traumatic brain injury within two Canadian emergency departments.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The validated Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Network (PECARN) rule helps determine the relevance of a head computerized tomography (CT) for children with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). We sought to estimate the potential overuse of head CT within two Canadian emergency departments (EDs).

Methods

We conducted a retrospective chart review of children seen in 2016 in a paediatric Level I (site 1) and a general Level II (site 2) trauma centre. We reviewed charts to determine the appropriateness of head CT use according to the PECARN rule in a random subset of children presenting with head trauma. Simple descriptive statistics were applied.

Results

One thousand five hundred and forty-six eligible patients younger than 17 years consulted during the study p

SUBMITTER: Gariepy M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7757778 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature