1657 Trauma imaging appropriateness in paediatric patients conveyed to a trauma unit compared to a major trauma centre - a retrospective observational study

Conclusion In the study period n=315 patients were identified. 229 (72.7%) underwent CT <12hrs and were included in the analysis: n=93 MTC, n=136 TU, table 1. CT imaging was judged as appropriate in n=77/93 (82.8%) MTC and n=104/136 (76.5%) TU scans, p=0.32. The median time to first CT was 35.0 [26.0–75.0] minutes MTC, and 76.0 [48.0–109.0] minutes TU, p<0.0001. Abstract 1657 Table 1CT appropriateness and timing associated with transfer status at a single MTC Primary Attendance to MTC Secondary Transfer to MTC CT <12 hours of hospital arrival/n(%) 93 (41%) 136 (59%) Age in years/median [IQR ] 9.8 [5.4 – 14.1] 9.3 [3.5 – 13.8] Male sex/n (%) 58 (62%) 96 (71%) Injury Severity Score/median/[IQR ] 18 [10 – 29] 16 [15 – 25] Hospital arrival to first CT interval (minutes)/median [IQR ] 35 [26–75] 75 [47–108] CT whole body (% of CT at TU/MTC) 47 (51%) 47 (35%) CT focussed (% of CT at TU/MTC) 46 (49%) 89 (65%) CT appropriate (% of CT at TU/MTC) 77 (83%) 104 (76%) Abbreviations: CT = Computed Tomography; IQR= Interquartile Range; MTC = Major Trauma Centre; TU = Trauma Unit. We have demonstrated room for improvement in paediatric CT trauma imaging appropriateness across the network, but this is not significantly different between the MTC and TUs. However, time to initial trauma CT was significantly shorter in the MTC.
Source: Emergency Medicine Journal - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: APEM Lightning Papers Source Type: research