Predicting factors for abnormal brain computed tomography in children with minor head trauma

Abstract Background Deciding whether a cranial Computed Tomography (CT) scan in a patient with minor head trauma (MHT) is necessary or not has always been challenging. Diagnosing Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a fundamental part of MHT managing especially in children who are more vulnerable in term...

Description complète

Enregistré dans:
Détails bibliographiques
Auteurs principaux: Taraneh Naghibi, Mina Rostami, Behrad Jamali, Zhaleh Karimimoghaddam, Alireza Zeraatchi, Asghar Jafari Rouhi
Format: article
Langue:EN
Publié: BMC 2021
Sujets:
Accès en ligne:https://doaj.org/article/14bddd56e35340f895779c4b423f41b0
Tags: Ajouter un tag
Pas de tags, Soyez le premier à ajouter un tag!
Description
Résumé:Abstract Background Deciding whether a cranial Computed Tomography (CT) scan in a patient with minor head trauma (MHT) is necessary or not has always been challenging. Diagnosing Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a fundamental part of MHT managing especially in children who are more vulnerable in terms of brain CT radiation consequences and TBI. Defining some indications to timely and efficiently predict the likelihood of TBI is necessary. Thus, we aimed to determine the impact of clinical findings to predict the need for brain CT in children with MHT. Methods In a prospective cohort study, 200 children (2 to 14 years) with MHT were included from 2019 to 2020. The data of MHT-related clinical findings were gathered. The primary and secondary outcomes were defined as a positive brain CT and any TBI requiring neurosurgery intervention, respectively. In statistical analysis, we performed Binary Logistic regression analysis, Fisher’s exact test and independent samples t-test using SPSS V.26. Results The mean age of participants was 6.5 ± 3.06 years. Ninety patients underwent brain CT. The most common clinical finding and injury mechanism were headache and falling from height, respectively. The results of brain CTs were positive in seven patients (3.5%). We identified three predicting factors for an abnormal brain CT including headache, decreased level of consciousness, and vomiting. Conclusion We showed that repetitive vomiting (≥2), headache, and decreased level of consciousness are predicting factors for an abnormal brain CT in children with MHT.