Evaluation of brain computed tomography results in pediatric traumas

Abstract

Aims: The use of brain computed tomography (CT) in the management of childhood head traumas is increasing every day. However, due to the more prominent harmful effects of radiation caused by CT in children and the increase in health expenditures, rules have been settled to determine brain CT indications, especially in children with mild head trauma. The aim of this study is to contribute to the literature by sharing the demographic characteristics, clinical findings and Brain CT results of pediatric patients who admitted to the emergency department (ED) with head trauma. Methods: The study was conducted retrospectively in children who admitted to Kırıkkale University Hospital ED with head trauma. The demographic characteristics of the patients, their complaints at admission, Glasgow coma score (GCS), examination findings, follow-up and treatment management in the ED, and brain CT results were recorded. Chi-square test was used to compare the data. A value of p<0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 234 children with head trauma were included in the study. Mean age of the study group was: 9.13±6.36 /years and 57.3% (n=134) were males. While 7.2% of the children were <2 years old, 92.8% of them were ?2 years old. Mean GCS was 14.92±0.79. Falling from a height was the most common cause of head trauma with 30.8%, followed by falling from the same level with 21.8% and in-vehicle traffic accident with 18.4%. Headache (37.2%), nausea-vomiting (36.8%) and loss of consciousness (13.7%) were the three most common admission symptoms after head trauma. Headache was found to be significantly higher in the ?2 age group and nausea-vomiting in the <2 age group compared to the other group (p=0.006; p<0.001, respectively). While 97.9% of brain CT results were normal, the most common pathological finding was linear fracture (2.1%). In terms of brain CT results, no difference was found between children <2 years and ?2 years of age (p=0.527). Conclusion: Majority of the pediatric patients we evaluated in our study had minor head trauma, and most of the brain CT results were normal. Headache, nausea, vomiting, and loss of consciousness were the three most common symptoms after head trauma. Nausea-vomiting was observed more frequently in children aged <2 years and headache was observed inchildren aged ?2 years after head trauma, compared to other age groups.