Article ; Online: Head computed tomography in suspected physical abuse: time to rethink?
Archives of disease in childhood
2020
Abstract: Background: National guidance recommends CT-head for all children <1 year old with suspected physical abuse, and to be considered for those <2 years old to exclude abusive head trauma.: Objectives: To investigate whether this guidance is followed, ... ...
Abstract | Background: National guidance recommends CT-head for all children <1 year old with suspected physical abuse, and to be considered for those <2 years old to exclude abusive head trauma. Objectives: To investigate whether this guidance is followed, and the associations between clinical presentation and CT findings, to determine whether guidance could be refined. Materials and methods: A retrospective case note review of all children <2 years old who underwent medical assessment for suspected abuse (2009-2017). Outcome measures were frequency of CT-head, and diagnostic yield of intracranial injury, skull fracture or both. Results: CT-head was undertaken in 60.3% (152/252) of children <12 months old and 7.8% (13/167) of those aged 12-24 months. The diagnostic yield in children who had a CT-head was 27.1% in children <6 months old, 14.3% in those 6-12 months old (p=0.07) and 42.6% (6/13) in those 12-24 months old. For those with head swelling or neurological impairment, it was 84.2% (32/38). In children <12 months old without these clinical features, the estimated prevalence of occult head injury was 6.1% (7/115). The strongest predictors of an abnormal CT-head were swelling to the head (OR 46.7), neurological impairment (OR 20.6) and a low haemoglobin (OR 11.8). Conclusion: All children <2 years of age with suspected physical abuse and neurological impairment or head swelling should undergo CT-head. Where the technical skills and the requisite expertise to interpret MRI exist, an MRI scan may be the optimal first-line neuroimaging investigation in infants who are neurologically stable with injuries unrelated to the head to minimise cranial radiation exposure. |
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Language | English |
Publishing date | 2020-10-29 |
Publishing country | England |
Document type | Journal Article |
ZDB-ID | 524-1 |
ISSN | 1468-2044 ; 0003-9888 ; 1359-2998 |
ISSN (online) | 1468-2044 |
ISSN | 0003-9888 ; 1359-2998 |
DOI | 10.1136/archdischild-2020-320192 |
Database | MEDical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System OnLINE |
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