LOS ANGELES: Visits to emergency departments by children with sports-related head injuries have sky-rocketed in the past decade, and new research finds that many patients undergo unnecessary computed tomography or CT scans that expose them to radiation and increase the cost of treatment.
Fifty-three percent of patients studied received a CT scan, but only four percent of those actually had traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) on their CT scans.
“Research highlighting the risk of exposure to radiation from CT scans has prompted efforts to reduce variability in care by developing prediction rules to decrease inappropriate CT scan use in children with blunt head trauma, while reducing healthcare costs,” said…