Comparison of Prediction Rules and Clinician Suspicion for Identifying Children With Clinically Important Brain Injuries After Blunt Head Trauma

Management of neonatal head injuries: A retrospective cohort study

AIM

The aim of this study is to describe circumstances, management and short-term outcomes of neonatal head trauma, and adherence to the Paediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) head trauma prediction rule for children under 2 years.

METHODS

Multicentre retrospective cohort study of neonates (<29 days) with head trauma across 25 emergency departments (ED) from January 2017 to June 2021.

RESULTS

A total of 492 neonates (median age 17 days, range 0-28 days) with non-trivial head trauma were enrolled. Falls were the most common injury mechanism (375/492, 76.2%). Imaging was performed in 150/492 (30.5%) neonates. Clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI), defined as death, neurosurgery, prolonged intubation, or extended hospitalisation from injury, occurred in 7/492 (1.4%) cases. Notably, 286/492 (58.1%) neonates were managed by short-term observation (<48 h), and 126/492 (25.6%) were admitted. Among high-risk neonates per PECARN criteria, 17/21 (80.9%) did not undergo recommended head CT scans but were observed within ED short observation units or underwent alternative imaging, with no ciTBI diagnoses among those discharged without CT.

CONCLUSION

Severe neonatal head injuries are rare, and most neonatal head injuries have a favourable outcome, making observation a suitable approach, while remaining vigilant for signs of non-accidental injuries.

Traumatic posterior fossa extradural hematoma in children: a meta-analysis and institutional experience of its clinical course, treatment and outcomes

Posterior fossa extradural hematoma (PFEDH) is rare but has a greater incidence amongst children. It is also associated with a rapid deterioration. The aim of this study was to present the management of PFEDH through our institutional experience and a meta-analysis. A retrospective single institution review of all children from 2004 to 2024 who underwent craniotomy for PFEDH was undertaken. The collected variables included: demographics, type of trauma, clinical findings, computed tomography findings, and clinical course. A systematic review using Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and meta-analysis were performed. Nineteen children with PFEDH who underwent surgery were identified. All 19 (100%) patients benefited from good Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) score 4-5, and there were no incidences of in-hospital mortality. From the systematic review, 391 patients, across twenty-four studies and our series, were included. A total of 308 were treated with surgery, whereas 83 patients were treated conservatively. A comparative meta-analysis was not performed as the two groups were deemed too heterogeneous in clinical characteristics. Instead, single-arm meta-analyses were performed. The pooled incidence of patients initially under conservative management requiring surgery was 9.90% (95%CI 1.61;22.21%, I2 = 35.2). The incidence of good functional outcomes in patients managed surgically and conservatively were 93.68% (95%CI: 88.69;97.57%, I2 = 0.0%), and 99.99% (95%CI: 96.53;100%, I2 = 0.0%), respectively. Overall pooled of mortality in patients managed surgically and conservatively were 0.57% (95%CI: 0.00;2.87%, I2 = 0.0%) and 0.00% (95%CI: 0.00;1.18%, I2 = 0.0%). Overall, our study reiterates that pediatric PFEDH is uncommon, and patients often present atypically. Based on our institutional experience and extrapolating data from our meta-analysis of the wider literature, neurosurgical intervention is a reliable therapeutic option with good clinical outcomes.

Increasing Use of Rapid Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Children with Blunt Head Injury

OBJECTIVE

To increase the percentage of patients who undergo rapid magnetic resonance imaging (rMRI) rather than computed tomography (CT) for evaluation of mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) from 45% in 2020 to 80% by December 2021.

STUDY DESIGN

This was a quality improvement initiative targeted to patients presenting to the pediatric emergency department presenting with mild TBI, with baseline data collected from January 2020 to December 2020. From January 2021 to August 2021, we implemented a series of improvement interventions and tracked the percentage of patients undergoing neuroimaging who received rMRI as their initial study. Balancing measures included proportion of all patients with mild TBI who underwent neuroimaging of any kind, proportion of patients requiring sedation, emergency department length of stay, and percentage with clinically important TBI.

RESULTS

The utilization of rMRI increased from a baseline of 45% to a mean of 92% in the intervention period. Overall neuroimaging rates did not change significantly after the intervention (19.8 vs 23.2%, P = .24). There was no difference in need for anxiolysis (12 vs 7%, P = .30) though emergency department length of stay was marginally increased (1.4 vs 1.7 hours, P = < 0.01).

CONCLUSION

In this quality improvement initiative, transition to rMRI as the primary imaging modality for the evaluation of minor TBI was achieved at a level 1 pediatric trauma center with no significant increase in overall use of neuroimaging.

Performance of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) biomarkers in predicting CT scan results and neurological outcomes in children with traumatic brain injury (BRAINI-2 paediatric study): protocol of a European prospective multicentre study

INTRODUCTION

In light of the burden of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in children and the excessive number of unnecessary CT scans still being performed, new strategies are needed to limit their use while minimising the risk of delayed diagnosis of intracranial lesions (ICLs). Identifying children at higher risk of poor outcomes would enable them to be better monitored. The use of the blood-based brain biomarkers glial fibrillar acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin carboxy-terminal hydrolase-L1 (UCH-L1) could help clinicians in this decision. The overall aim of this study is to provide new knowledge regarding GFAP and UCH-L1 in order to improve TBI management in the paediatric population.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

We will conduct a European, prospective, multicentre study, the BRAINI-2 paediatric study, in 20 centres in France, Spain and Switzerland with an inclusion period of 30 months for a total of 2880 children and adolescents included. To assess the performance of GFAP and UCH-L1 used separately and in combination to predict ICLs on CT scans (primary objective), 630 children less than 18 years of age with mild TBI, defined by a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13-15 and with a CT scan will be recruited. To evaluate the potential of GFAP and UCH-L1 in predicting the prognosis after TBI (secondary objective), a further 1720 children with mild TBI but no CT scan as well as 130 children with moderate or severe TBI will be recruited. Finally, to establish age-specific reference values for GFAP and UCH-L1 (secondary objective), we will include 400 children and adolescents with no history of TBI.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

This study has received ethics approval in all participating countries. Results from our study will be disseminated in international peer-reviewed journals. All procedures were developed in order to assure data protection and confidentiality.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

NCT05413499.

Predicting Complicated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Adolescent Trauma to Enhance Clinical Decisions in Imaging

BACKGROUND

The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) traumatic brain injury algorithm is used to identify children at low risk of clinically significant traumatic brain injuries to reduce computed tomography (CT) exposure. Adapting PECARN rules based on population-specific risk stratification has been suggested to improve diagnostic accuracy.

OBJECTIVE

This study sought to identify center-specific patient variables, beyond PECARN rules, that may enhance the identification of patients requiring neuroimaging.

METHODS

This single-center, retrospective cohort study was conducted from July 1, 2016, to July 1, 2020, in a Southwestern U.S. Level II pediatric trauma center. The inclusion criteria were adolescents (10-15 years), Glasgow Coma Scale (13-15), with a confirmed mechanical blow to the head. Patients without a head CT were excluded. Logistic regression was performed to identify additional complicated mild traumatic brain injury predictor variables beyond the PECARN.

RESULTS

There were 136 patients studied; 21 (15%) presented with a complicated mild traumatic brain injury. Relative to motorcycle collision or all-terrain vehicle trauma (odds ratio [OR] 211.75, 95% confidence interval, CI [4.51, 9931.41], p < .001), an unspecified mechanism (OR 42.0, 95% CI [1.30, 1350.97], p = .03) and consult activation (OR 17.44, 95% CI [1.75, 173.31], p = .01) were significantly associated with complicated mild traumatic brain injury.

CONCLUSIONS

We identified additional factors associated with complex mild traumatic brain injury, including motorcycle collision and all-terrain vehicle trauma, unspecified mechanism, and consult activation that are not in the PECARN imaging decision rule. Adding these variables may aid in determining the need for appropriate CT scanning.

A deep neural network framework to derive interpretable decision rules for accurate traumatic brain injury identification of infants

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to develop a robust framework to model the complex association between clinical features and traumatic brain injury (TBI) risk in children under age two, and identify significant features to derive clinical decision rules for triage decisions.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, four frequently used machine learning models, i.e., support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), deep neural network (DNN), and XGBoost (XGB), were compared to identify significant clinical features from 24 input features associated with the TBI risk in children under age two under the permutation feature importance test (PermFIT) framework by using the publicly available data set from the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) study. The prediction accuracy was determined by comparing the predicted TBI status with the computed tomography (CT) scan results since CT scan is the gold standard for diagnosing TBI.

RESULTS

At a significance level of [Formula: see text], DNN, RF, XGB, and SVM identified 9, 1, 2,  and 4 significant features, respectively. In a comparison of accuracy (Accuracy), the area under the curve (AUC), and the precision-recall area under the curve (PR-AUC), the permutation feature importance test for DNN model was the most powerful framework for identifying significant features and outperformed other methods, i.e., RF, XGB, and SVM, with Accuracy, AUC, and PR-AUC as 0.915, 0.794, and 0.974, respectively.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that the PermFIT-DNN framework robustly identifies significant clinical features associated with TBI status and improves prediction performance. The findings could be used to inform the development of clinical decision tools designed to inform triage decisions.

"Feed and Swaddle" method of Infants Undergoing Head CT for minor head injury in the pediatric emergency department - A comparative case review

INTRODUCTION

Brain imaging for suspected significant head injuries in pediatric emergency departments is an important and time-sensitive procedure. The use of sedation to successfully complete imaging can be limited due to young age and other injury related factors. Using a non-pharmacological method using feeding and swaddling can be used. This may obviate the need for sedation but can be time consuming.

METHODS

A retrospective study of all children undergoing brain imaging for head injury during the years 2016-2021. Use of sedation, time to completion and imaging findings were compared.

RESULTS

Of 281 children requiring brain imaging, 268 (95.4%) were completed using the feed and swaddle method. Time to imaging completion was similar between sedation and feed and swaddle groups (85.5 min vs. 86 min). Abnormal findings on imaging were found in 186 (69.4%) in the feed and swaddle group and in 10 (77%) of the sedation group. No adverse events were seen in the sedation group.

CONCLUSION

Using the feed and swaddle method can help lower the need for sedation in the under 1 year age group with a successful and timely completion of brain imaging.

A Child Presenting with a Glasgow Coma Scale Score of 13: Mild or Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury? A Narrative Review

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this article was to compare children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and Glasgow Coma Scale score (GCS) 13 with children presenting with GCS 14 and 15 and GCS 9 to 12.

DATA SOURCE

We searched PubMed for clinical studies of children of 0 to 18 years of age with mild TBI (mTBI) and moderate TBI, published in English language in the period of 2000 to 2020.

STUDY SELECTION

We selected studies sub-classifying children with GCS 13 in comparison with GCS 14 and 15 and 9 to 12. We excluded reviews, meta-analyses, non-U.S./European population studies, studies of abusive head trauma, and severe TBI.

DATA SYNTHESIS

Most children (>85%) with an mTBI present at the emergency department with an initial GCS 15. A minority of only 5% present with GCS 13, 40% of which sustain a high-energy trauma. Compared with GCS 15, they present with a longer duration of unconsciousness and of post-traumatic amnesia. More often head computerized tomography scans show abnormalities (in 9-16%), leading to neurosurgical intervention in 3 to 8%. Also, higher rates of severe extracranial injury are reported. Admission is indicated in more than 90%, with a median length of hospitalization of more than 4 days and 28% requiring intensive care unit level care. These data are more consistent with children with GCS 9 to 12. In children with GCS 15, all these numbers are much lower.

CONCLUSION

We advocate classifying children with GCS 13 as moderate TBI and treat them accordingly.

Impact of Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network Rules on Admission, Cranial Computed Tomography and Skull X-ray Rates in a Central European Hospital

OBJECTIVES

Mild head injury is a common cause of pediatric emergency department visits. Cranial computed tomography (CCT) is the diagnostic standard, although it involves inherent radiation risks. Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) clinical prediction rules were developed to reduce the number of CCT scans. They provide a guideline for CCT use in mild head injuries, based on clinical parameters.Our study aims to evaluate the impact of PECARN rules on hospital admission and CCT rate in children with mild head injury.

METHODS

In this retrospective study, we investigated 729 children with mild head injury presenting in the pediatric emergency department between 2012 and 2016. We compared 2 groups, before and after implementation of PECARN criteria in clinical routine.

RESULTS

Of 729 included patients (417 male; 5.6 ± 4.8 years;) 380 were seen prior to implementation of the PECARN rules, compared to 349 patients afterwards. Overall admissions to the ward decreased significantly from 83.9% (n = 319) to 71.3% (n = 249) (P < 0.001), a 31.3% reduction. Calculated from all pediatric admissions, the rate of patients with mild head injury fell from 6.0% to 4.3% (P < 0.001).We recorded a nonsignificant decrease in the CCT rate, from 14.7% to 13.2% (P = 0.555).No readmissions were recorded.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show a significant reduction in the rate of hospital admission following implementation of the PECARN rules in our hospital. Already low, the CCT rate did not change after implementation.The PECARN rules appear to be safe because no readmissions were recorded.

Simplified Clinical Decision Rule Using Clinically Important Events for Risk Prediction in Pediatric Head Injury: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Computed tomography (CT) scans are useful for confirming head injury diagnoses. However, there is no standard clinical decision rule (CDR) for determining the need for CT scanning in pediatric patients with head injuries. We developed a CDR and conducted a retrospective cohort study to evaluate its diagnostic accuracy in identifying children with clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI). We selected predictors based on three existing CDRs: CATCH, CHALICE, and PECARN. Of the 2569 eligible patients, 645 (439 (68%) boys, median age: five years) were included in this study. In total, 59 (9%) patients showed ciTBI, and 129 (20%) were admitted to hospital. The novel CDR comprised six predictors of abnormal CT findings. It had a sensitivity of 79.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): 65.5-89.0%) and a specificity of 50.9% (95% CI: 48.9-52.3%). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (0.72, 95% CI: 0.67-0.77) was non-inferior to those of CATCH, CHALICE, and PECARN (0.71, 95% CI: 0.66-0.77; 0.67, 95% CI: 0.61-0.74; and 0.69, 95% CI: 0.64-0.73, respectively; p = 0.57). The novel CDR was statistically noninferior in diagnostic accuracy compared to the three existing CDRs. Further development and validation studies are needed before clinical application.

Accuracy of PECARN decision rule in minor blunt head trauma in pediatric emergency department: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Paediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) is a useful Clinical Decision Support Tool (CDST) to identify traumatic brain injuries and reduce the use of head computed tomography (CT) scans among paediatric patients. The present Meta-analysis aims to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the PECARN rule from 2009 to 2020 in children with a very low risk of blunt head trauma.

METHODS

A detailed search was conducted from the databases of Medline (via PubMed), Cinahl (via Ebsco), Scopus, Web of Sciences, from 2009 till the end of December 2020 using the keywords like decreased use of CT scan, blunt head trauma (BHT) combined with accuracy, PECARN OR CDST. Studies showing the diagnostic accuracy of the PECARN rule in children younger than 18 years of age with minor BHT were included.

RESULTS

Thirteen studies were included in the present analysis. Pooled sensitivity of 0.08, (95% confidence interval of 0.074-0.087), pooled specificity of 0.20 (95% CI of 0.196-0.213) and diagnostic odds ratio of 0.004 (95% CI of 0.000-0.1666) was in <2 years of age. The overall sensitivity of 0.07, specificity of 0.66, and the diagnostic odds ratio of 0.54 (95% CI of 0.10-2.78) were seen in ≥2 years of age. Overall sensitivity of 0.13 (95% CI 0.12-0.14), specificity of 0.81 (95% CI 0.80-0.82) and diagnostic odds ratio of 0.79 (95% CI of 0.08-7.71) was in 0-18 years of age.

CONCLUSION

The present analysis indicates the PECARN decision tool as an accurate CDST in low-risk minor BHT cases in children below two years of age and can become a valuable tool in reducing Head CT scan overuse in paediatric emergency departments.

Trends in Head Computed Tomography Utilization in Children Presenting to Emergency Departments After Traumatic Head Injury

OBJECTIVES

Although closed head injuries occur commonly in children, most do not have a clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI) and do not require neuroimaging. We sought to determine whether the utilization of computed tomography of the head (CT-H) in children presenting to an emergency department (ED) with a closed head injury changed after publication of validated clinical prediction rules to identify children at risk of ciTBI by the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN).

METHODS

We used the nationwide ED sample (2008-2013) to examine children visiting an ED after a mild closed head injury. Multiple patient and hospital characteristics were assessed.

RESULTS

Of the 4,552,071 children presenting to an ED with a mild closed head injury, 1,181,659 (26.0%) underwent CT-H. Care was most commonly received at metropolitan teaching hospitals (43.5%) and varied markedly by geographic region. Overall, there were no significant changes in the nationwide rates of CT-H utilization in the period immediately after publication of the PECARN prediction rules. However, compared with metropolitan teaching hospitals, CT-H utilization increased significantly for patients treated at nonteaching hospitals and at nonmetropolitan hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no overall reduction in CT-H utilization after publication of the 2009 PECARN prediction rules. However, patients treated at metropolitan teaching hospitals were significantly less likely to undergo CT-H after 2009, suggesting some penetration of the PECARN tool in that setting. Further research should study patterns of CT-H utilization in nonteaching hospitals and nonmetropolitan hospitals to assess challenges for adoption of validated pediatric ciTBI prediction rules.

Reducing Computed Tomography Scan Utilization for Pediatric Minor Head Injury in the Emergency Department: A Quality Improvement Initiative

BACKGROUND

The validated Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) prediction rules are meant to aid clinicians in safely reducing unwarranted imaging in children with minor head injuries (MHI). Even so, computed tomography (CT) scan utilization remains high, especially in intermediate-risk (per PECARN) MHI patients. The primary objective of this quality improvement initiative was to reduce CT utilization rates in the intermediate-risk MHI patients.

METHODS

This project was conducted in a Level I trauma pediatric emergency department (ED). Children < 18 years evaluated for intermediate-risk MHI from June 2016 through July 2019 were included. Our key drivers were provider education, decision support, and performance feedback. Our primary outcome was change in head CT utilization rate (%). Balancing measures included return visit within 72 hours of the index visit, ED length of stay (LOS), and clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI) on the revisit. We used statistical process control methodology to assess head CT rates over time.

RESULTS

A total of 1,535 eligible intermediate-risk MHI patients were analyzed. Our intervention bundle was associated with a decrease in CT use from 18.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 14.5% to 22.5%) in the preintervention period to 13.9% (95% CI = 13.8% to 14.1%) in the postintervention period, an absolute reduction of 4.6% (p = 0.015). Over time, no difference was noted in either ED LOS or return visit rate. There was only one revisit with a ciTBI to our institution during the study period.

CONCLUSIONS

Our multifaceted quality improvement initiative was both safe and effective in reducing our CT utilization rates in children with intermediate-risk MHI.

Pediatric minor head injury related return visits to the emergency department and their outcome

BACKGROUND

Minor head injury (MHI) in children is a common emergency department (ED) presentation. It is well established that majority of these patients don't require imaging and can be safely discharged. What is less known is how often these children come back to the ED and the outcome of their revisits? The objective of this study was to describe the frequency and outcome of unscheduled return visits (RVs) for MHI in a pediatric ED.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review of emergency department RV's database was conducted from August 2016 to July 2019. MHI patients <18 years of age who came back to the ED within 72 h of their index visit - for head injury related complaints - were eligible for inclusion.

RESULTS

Return visit rate for MHI was around 1% (61/6225). Of these, 55.7% (34/61) were female and 85.5% (53/61) were in the age group 2-17 years. Three-fourths of the revisits were for concussion-related symptoms. Nearly two-thirds of the patients required one or more interventions upon revisit. Missed clinically important traumatic brain injury was rare. Only one patient required operative intervention upon revisit. Though largely unpreventable, 5% (3/61) of the revisits were deemed potentially avoidable.

CONCLUSION(S)

RVs secondary to MHI in children remain low and are associated with good outcomes.

Identification of practically important traumatic brain injury using Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network rule in children younger than 2 years with minor head trauma

Background:

Minor head trauma is frequently presented to the pediatric emergency department. Despite the burden this injury poses on public health, evidence-based clinical guidelines on the assessment and management of pediatric minor head trauma remain unestablished, particularly in children below 2 years. We aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a clinical decision rule (Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network rule) and physician discretion in the recognition of practically important traumatic brain injury in children below 2 years of age presenting with minor head trauma to the emergency department.

Methods:

The medical records of children younger than 2 years presenting with head trauma to the emergency department were reviewed with Glasgow Coma Scale scores of 14–15. Practically important traumatic brain injury is a clinically essential traumatic brain injury including all cranial abnormalities (e.g. skull fracture) detected by computed tomography. All predictor variables of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network rule and practically important traumatic brain injury outcomes were validated.

Results:

We enrolled and analyzed 433 children below 2 years. The most frequently observed mechanisms of injury in decreasing order were as follows: falls > 90 cm, head struck by high-impact objects, slip down, and automobile traffic accident. Of 224 children, positive findings were observed in 35 and 144 had one or more predictors of Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network rule. The sensitivity, specificity, and negative likelihood ratio of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network rule for practically important traumatic brain injury were 94.3%, 41.3%, and 0.14, respectively.

Conclusion:

The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network rule would assist in clinical decision-making to appropriately detect potential head injuries in children below 2 years, thereby reducing unnecessary performance of computed tomography scan.

Impact of routine S100B protein assay on CT scan use in children with mild traumatic brain injury

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the impact of implementing a modified Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) rule including the S100B protein assay for managing mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in children.

METHODS

A before-and-after study was conducted in a paediatric emergency department of a French University Hospital from 2013 to 2015. We retrospectively included all consecutive children aged 4 months to 15 years who presented mTBI and were at intermediate risk for clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI). We compared the proportions of CT scans performed and of in-hospital observations before (2013-2014) and after (2014-2015) implementation of a modified PECARN rule including the S100B protein assay.

RESULTS

We included 1,062 children with mTBI (median age 4.5 years, sex ratio [F/M] 0.73) who were at intermediate risk for ciTBI: 494 (46.5%) during 2013-2014 and 568 (53.5%) during 2014-2015. During 2014-2015, S100B protein was measured in 451 (79.4%) children within 6 h after mTBI. The proportion of CT scans and in-hospital observations significantly decreased between the two periods, from 14.4 to 9.5% (p=0.02) and 73.9-40.5% (p<0.01), respectively. The number of CT scans performed to identify a single ciTBI was reduced by two-thirds, from 18 to 6 CT scans, between 2013-2014 and 2014-2015. All children with ciTBI were identified by the rules.

CONCLUSIONS

The implementation of a modified PECARN rule including the S100B protein assay significantly decreased the proportion of CT scans and in-hospital observations for children with mTBI who were at intermediate risk for ciTBI.

Emergency department management of traumatic brain injuries: A resource tiered review

Introduction

Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability globally with an estimated African incidence of approximately 8 million cases annually. A person suffering from a TBI is often aged 20–30, contributing to sustained disability and large negative economic impacts of TBI. Effective emergency care has the potential to decrease morbidity from this multisystem trauma.

Objectives

Identify and summarize key recommendations for emergency care of patients with traumatic brain injuries using a resource tiered framework.

Methods

A literature review was conducted on clinical care of brain-injured patients in resource-limited settings, with a focus on the first 48 h of injury. Using the AfJEM resource tiered review and PRISMA guidelines, articles were identified and used to describe best practice care and management of the brain-injured patient in resource-limited settings.

Key recommendations

Optimal management of the brain-injured patient begins with early and appropriate triage. A complete history and physical can identify high-risk patients who present with mild or moderate TBI. Clinical decision rules can aid in the identification of low-risk patients who require no neuroimaging or only a brief period of observation. The management of the severely brain-injured patient requires a systematic approach focused on the avoidance of secondary injury, including hypotension, hypoxia, and hypoglycaemia. Most interventions to prevent secondary injury can be implemented at all facility levels. Urgent neuroimaging is recommended for patients with severe TBI followed by consultation with a neurosurgeon and transfer to an intensive care unit. The high incidence and poor outcomes of traumatic brain injury in Africa make this subject an important focus for future research and intervention to further guide optimal clinical care.

The comparison of PECARN, CATCH, AND CHALICE criteria in children under the age of 18 years with minor head trauma in emergency department

Introduction:

Minor head traumas constitute a significant part of childhood injuries. The incidence of intracranial pathologies in children with minor head trauma varies in the range of 3%–5%, but it is higher among younger infants. The criteria of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network, Canadian Assessment of Tomography for Childhood Head Injury, and Children’s Head Injury Algorithm for the Prediction of Important Clinical Events are the most frequently accepted clinical decision-making criteria that were developed for selective computerized tomography requests. This study was conducted to assess the diagnostic performances of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network, Canadian Assessment of Tomography for Childhood Head Injury, and Children’s Head Injury Algorithm for the Prediction of Important Clinical Events criteria in Turkish society, determine their validity, and find the most suitable algorithm for cranial imaging in children with minor head trauma.

Methods:

This study retrospectively examined the data of patients under the age of 18 years who were admitted to the Emergency Medicine Department of Uludağ University Medical Faculty due to minor head trauma; 530 patients were included as they complied with the criteria. The exclusion criteria were being any trauma patients above the age of 18 years, Glasgow Coma Scale <13, pregnant patients, hemorrhagic diathesis, using anticoagulants, patients with penetrant trauma, patients with priorly known brain tumor, and patients with neurological diseases. The patients were divided into group based on the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network, Canadian Assessment of Tomography for Childhood Head Injury, and Children’s Head Injury Algorithm for the Prediction of Important Clinical Events Criteria.

Results:

Among all patients, 37.40% were female and 62.60% were male. Abnormal computed tomography findings such as epidural bleeding, subdural bleeding, and skull fractures were detected in 44 of the patients. The sensitivity of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network criteria was 72.4%, the specificity was 54.5%, the sensitivity of the Canadian Assessment of Tomography for Childhood Head Injury criteria was 57.8%, the specificity was 50%, the sensitivity of the Children’s Head Injury Algorithm for the Prediction of Important Clinical Events criteria was 87.7%, and the specificity was 20%.

Conclusion:

Given the populations to which the rules apply, it is understood that the Children’s Head Injury Algorithm for the Prediction of Important Clinical Events criteria is more determinative in detecting pathological computed tomography outcomes compared to Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network and Canadian Assessment of Tomography for Childhood Head Injury.

A secondary analysis to inform a clinical decision rule for predicting skull fracture and intracranial injury in children under age 2

The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with the risk of closed head injury (CHI) in children under age 2 years with suspected minor head injuries based on age-appropriate, or near age-appropriate, mental status on an exam. The study was a secondary data analysis of a public-use dataset from the largest prospective, multicenter pediatric head injury study found in the current literature. An existing, validated clinical decision rule was examined using a sample of 3,329 children under age 2 to determine whether it, or the individual variables within it, could be utilized alone, or in conjunction with other variables to accurately predict the risk of underlying CHI in this sample. Results indicated that the keys to an accurate triage assessment for children under age 2 with suspected minor head injuries include the ability to identify the specific skull region injured, the ability to assess for the presence and size of any scalp hematoma, the ability to identify signs of altered mental status in this age group, and having access to accurate information regarding the child's age and the details of the injury mechanism. The findings from this study add to the body of knowledge regarding what factors are associated with CHI in children under age 2 with suspected minor head injuries and could be used to inform age-specific recommendations for children under age 2 in triage, educational resources, and national trauma criteria.

Methodological standards for the development and evaluation of clinical prediction rules: a review of the literature

Clinical prediction rules (CPRs) that predict the absolute risk of a clinical condition or future outcome for individual patients are abundant in the medical literature; however, systematic reviews have demonstrated shortcomings in the methodological quality and reporting of prediction studies. To maximise the potential and clinical usefulness of CPRs, they must be rigorously developed and validated, and their impact on clinical practice and patient outcomes must be evaluated. This review aims to present a comprehensive overview of the stages involved in the development, validation and evaluation of CPRs, and to describe in detail the methodological standards required at each stage, illustrated with examples where appropriate. Important features of the study design, statistical analysis, modelling strategy, data collection, performance assessment, CPR presentation and reporting are discussed, in addition to other, often overlooked aspects such as the acceptability, cost-effectiveness and longer-term implementation of CPRs, and their comparison with clinical judgement. Although the development and evaluation of a robust, clinically useful CPR is anything but straightforward, adherence to the plethora of methodological standards, recommendations and frameworks at each stage will assist in the development of a rigorous CPR that has the potential to contribute usefully to clinical practice and decision-making and have a positive impact on patient care.

Cervical Spine Injury Risk Factors in Children With Blunt Trauma

BACKGROUND

Adult prediction rules for cervical spine injury (CSI) exist; however, pediatric rules do not. Our objectives were to determine test accuracies of retrospectively identified CSI risk factors in a prospective pediatric cohort and compare them to a de novo risk model.

METHODS

We conducted a 4-center, prospective observational study of children 0 to 17 years old who experienced blunt trauma and underwent emergency medical services scene response, trauma evaluation, and/or cervical imaging. Emergency department providers recorded CSI risk factors. CSIs were classified by reviewing imaging, consultations, and/or telephone follow-up. We calculated bivariable relative risks, multivariable odds ratios, and test characteristics for the retrospective risk model and a de novo model.

RESULTS

Of 4091 enrolled children, 74 (1.8%) had CSIs. Fourteen factors had bivariable associations with CSIs: diving, axial load, clotheslining, loss of consciousness, neck pain, inability to move neck, altered mental status, signs of basilar skull fracture, torso injury, thoracic injury, intubation, respiratory distress, decreased oxygen saturation, and neurologic deficits. The retrospective model (high-risk motor vehicle crash, diving, predisposing condition, neck pain, decreased neck mobility (report or exam), altered mental status, neurologic deficits, or torso injury) was 90.5% (95% confidence interval: 83.9%-97.2%) sensitive and 45.6% (44.0%-47.1%) specific for CSIs. The de novo model (diving, axial load, neck pain, inability to move neck, altered mental status, intubation, or respiratory distress) was 92.0% (85.7%-98.1%) sensitive and 50.3% (48.7%-51.8%) specific.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings support previously identified pediatric CSI risk factors and prospective pediatric CSI prediction rule development.

Grading and assessment of clinical predictive tools for paediatric head injury: a new evidence-based approach

BACKGROUND

Many clinical predictive tools have been developed to diagnose traumatic brain injury among children and guide the use of computed tomography in the emergency department. It is not always feasible to compare tools due to the diversity of their development methodologies, clinical variables, target populations, and predictive performances. The objectives of this study are to grade and assess paediatric head injury predictive tools, using a new evidence-based approach, and to provide emergency clinicians with standardised objective information on predictive tools to support their search for and selection of effective tools.

METHODS

Paediatric head injury predictive tools were identified through a focused review of literature. Based on the critical appraisal of published evidence about predictive performance, usability, potential effect, and post-implementation impact, tools were evaluated using a new framework for grading and assessment of predictive tools (GRASP). A comprehensive analysis was conducted to explain why certain tools were more successful.

RESULTS

Fourteen tools were identified and evaluated. The highest-grade tool is PECARN; the only tool evaluated in post-implementation impact studies. PECARN and CHALICE were evaluated for their potential effect on healthcare, while the remaining 12 tools were only evaluated for predictive performance. Three tools; CATCH, NEXUS II, and Palchak, were externally validated. Three tools; Haydel, Atabaki, and Buchanich, were only internally validated. The remaining six tools; Da Dalt, Greenes, Klemetti, Quayle, Dietrich, and Güzel did not show sufficient internal validity for use in clinical practice.

CONCLUSIONS

The GRASP framework provides clinicians with a high-level, evidence-based, comprehensive, yet simple and feasible approach to grade, compare, and select effective predictive tools. Comparing the three main tools which were assigned the highest grades; PECARN, CHALICE and CATCH, to the remaining 11, we find that the quality of tools' development studies, the experience and credibility of their authors, and the support by well-funded research programs were correlated with the tools' evidence-based assigned grades, and were more influential, than the sole high predictive performance, on the wide acceptance and successful implementation of the tools. Tools' simplicity and feasibility, in terms of resources needed, technical requirements, and training, are also crucial factors for their success.

Reducing the Cranial CT Rate for Pediatric Minor Head Trauma at Three Community Hospitals

OBJECTIVE

Efforts to reduce the rate of computerized cranial tomography (CT) in pediatric patients with minor head trauma (MHT) have focused on academic medical centers. However, community hospitals deliver the majority of pediatric emergency care. We aimed to reduce cranial CT utilization in patients presenting with MHT at 3 community hospital emergency departments (EDs).

METHODS

Multidisciplinary stakeholder teams at each site oversaw the quality improvement effort, which included education about an evidence-based guideline for MHT and individual provider feedback on CT rates. Given the variation in hospital structure, we tailored the specifics of the intervention to each site. We used statistical process control methodology to measure CT rates over time. The primary balancing measure was returned to the ED within 72 hours with clinically important traumatic brain injury.

RESULTS

We included 3,215 pediatric ED visits for MHT: 1,253 in the baseline period and 1,962 in the intervention period. The CT rate dropped from 18% in the baseline period to 13% in the intervention period, a 28% relative reduction. Pediatric providers saw 72% of the intervention period encounters and drove this reduction. There was no increase in the number of children who returned to their local ED within 72 hours with clinically important traumatic brain injury.

CONCLUSIONS

We safely reduced the proportion of children with MHT who received a cranial CT through a multicenter community ED quality improvement initiative. We did not see an increase in missed clinically important traumatic brain injury.

Effect of the Head Computed Tomography Choice Decision Aid in Parents of Children With Minor Head Trauma: A Cluster Randomized Trial

IMPORTANCE

The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network prediction rules for minor head trauma identify children at very low, intermediate, and high risk of clinically important traumatic brain injuries (ciTBIs) and recommend no computed tomography (CT) for those at very low risk. However, the prediction rules provide little guidance in the choice of home observation or CT in children at intermediate risk for ciTBI.

OBJECTIVE

To compare a decision aid with usual care in parents of children at intermediate risk for ciTBI.

DESIGN, SETTINGS, AND PARTICIPANTS

This cluster randomized trial was conducted in 7 geographically diverse US emergency departments (EDs) from April 1, 2014, to September 30, 2016. Eligible participants were emergency clinicians, children ages 2 to 18 years with minor head trauma at intermediate risk for ciTBI, and their parents.

INTERVENTIONS

Clinicians were randomly assigned (1:1 ratio) to shared decision-making facilitated by the Head CT Choice decision aid or to usual care.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

The primary outcome, selected by parent stakeholders, was knowledge of their child's risk for ciTBI and the available diagnostic options. Secondary outcomes included decisional conflict, parental involvement in decision-making, the ED CT rate, 7-day health care utilization, and missed ciTBI.

RESULTS

A total of 172 clinicians caring for 971 children (493 decision aid; 478 usual care) with minor head trauma at intermediate risk for ciTBI were enrolled. The patient mean (SD) age was 6.7 (7.1) years, 575 (59%) were male, and 253 (26%) were of nonwhite race. Parents in the decision aid arm compared with the usual care arm had greater knowledge (mean [SD] questions correct: 6.2 [2.0] vs 5.3 [2.0]; mean difference, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.6-1.3), had less decisional conflict (mean [SD] decisional conflict score, 14.8 [15.5] vs 19.2 [16.6]; mean difference, -4.4; 95% CI, -7.3 to -2.4), and were more involved in CT decision-making (observing patient involvement [OPTION] scores: mean [SD], 25.0 [8.5] vs 13.3 [6.5]; mean difference, 11.7; 95% CI, 9.6-13.9). Although the ED CT rate did not significantly differ (decision aid, 22% vs usual care, 24%; odds ratio, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.51-1.27), the mean number of imaging tests was lower in the decision aid arm 7 days after injury. No child had a missed ciTBI.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Use of a decision aid in parents of children at intermediate risk of ciTBI increased parent knowledge, decreased decisional conflict, and increased involvement in decision-making. The intervention did not significantly reduce the ED CT rate but safely decreased health care utilization 7 days after injury.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02063087.

Comparisons of the accuracy of radiation diagnostic modalities in brain tumor: A nonrandomized, nonexperimental, cross-sectional trial

Tumor morphology improved sensitivity, accuracy, and specificity of the diagnosis, but all diagnostic techniques have attenuation correction issues.To compare computed tomographic (CT), positron emission tomographic (PET), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of patients with brain tumor in a Chinese setting.A nonrandomized, nonexperimental, cross-sectional trial.Jining No. 1 People's Hospital, China.In total, 127 patients who had clinically confirmed a brain tumor were included in the cross-sectional study. Patients were subjected to brain CT, MRI, and PET. The tumors resected after brain surgery were subjected to morphological diagnosis. Statistical analysis of data of surgically removed tumor and that of different methods of diagnosis was performed using Wilcoxon test following Tukey-Kramer test. Spearmen correlation was performed between diagnostic modalities and in vivo morphology. Results were considered significant at 99% of confidence level.The data of diameter and volume of tumor derived from CT (Spearman r = 0.9845 and 0.9706), and MRI (Spearman r = 0.955 and 0.2378) were failed to correlate with that of that of the surgically removed tumor. However, prediction of diameter and volume of the tumor by PET (Spearman r = 0.9922 and 0.9921) were correlated with that of the surgically removed tumor. CT and MRI were failed to quantified pituitary adenomas.The study was recommended PET for assessment of brain tumor.

Plasma D-dimer safely reduces unnecessary CT scans obtained in the evaluation of pediatric head trauma

PURPOSE

Serum D-dimer has been proposed as a biomarker to aid in the diagnosis of pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI). We investigated the accuracy of D-dimer in predicting the absence of TBI and evaluated the degree by which D-dimer could limit unnecessary computed tomography scans of the head (CTH).

METHODS

Retrospective review of patients with suspected TBI from 2011 to 2013 who underwent evaluation with CTH and quantitative D-dimer. D-dimer levels were compared among patients with clinically-important TBI (ciTBI), TBI, isolated skull fracture and no injury.

RESULTS

Of the 663 patients evaluated for suspected TBI, ciTBI was identified in 116 (17.5%), TBI in 77 (11.6%), skull fracture in 61 (9.2%) and no head injury in 409 (61.7%). Patients with no head injury had significantly lower D-dimer values (1531±1791pg/μL) compared to those with skull fracture, TBI and ciTBI (2504±1769, 2870±1633 and 4059±1287pg/μL, respectively, p<0.005). Using a D-dimer value <750pg/μL as a negative screen, no ciTBIs would be missed and 209 CTHs avoided (39.7% of total).

CONCLUSION

Low plasma D-dimer predicts the absence of ciTBI for pediatric patient with suspected TBI. Incorporating D-dimer into current diagnostic algorithms may significantly limit the number of unnecessary CTHs performed in this population.

TYPE OF STUDY

Study of diagnostic test.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

I.

Interobserver Agreement in Pediatric Cervical Spine Injury Assessment Between Prehospital and Emergency Department Providers

BACKGROUND

Investigators have derived cervical spine injury (CSI) decision support tools from physician observations. There is a need to demonstrate that prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) providers can use these tools to appropriately determine the need for spinal motion restrictions and make field disposition decisions.

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to determine the interobserver agreement between EMS and emergency department (ED) providers for CSI risk assessment variables and overall gestalt for CSI in children after blunt trauma.

METHODS

This was a planned, substudy of a four-site, prospective cohort of children < 18 years transported by EMS to pediatric EDs for evaluation of CSI after blunt trauma. Inclusion criteria were trauma team activation and/or EMS-initiated spinal motion restriction. Exclusion criteria were penetrating trauma, transfer to another facility for definitive care, state custody, or substantial language barrier. For each eligible child, the transporting EMS provider and treating ED provider independently recorded their clinical assessment for CSI. This included mechanism of injury and patient history and physical examination findings. We assessed each paired variable for interobserver agreement between EMS and ED provider using kappa (κ) analysis. We considered variables with κ lower confidence interval values ≥0.4 to have moderate or better agreement.

RESULTS

We obtained 1,372 paired observations for 29 variables. After finding prevalence and observer bias were adjusted for, all variables achieved moderate to better agreement including eight variables previously shown to be independently associated with CSI in children: diving mechanism, high-risk motor vehicle collision, altered mental status, focal neurologic findings, neck pain, torticollis, substantial torso injury, and predisposing medical condition. EMS and ED providers, however, showed less than moderate agreement for their overall gestalt for CSI in children. Of note, both EMS and ED providers did not assess for neck pain, inability to move the neck, and/or cervical spine tenderness in more than 10% of study patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Emergency medical services and ED providers achieved at least moderate agreement in the assessment of CSI risk factors in children after blunt trauma. However, EMS and ED providers did not achieve moderate agreement on gestalt for CSI and some risk factors went unassessed by providers. These findings support the development of a pediatric CSI risk assessment tool for EMS and ED providers to reduce interventions for those children at very low risk for CSIs while still identifying all children with injury.

Accuracy of Clinician Suspicion of Lyme Disease in the Emergency Department

BACKGROUND

To make initial management decisions, clinicians must estimate the probability of Lyme disease before diagnostic test results are available. Our objective was to examine the accuracy of clinician suspicion for Lyme disease in children undergoing evaluation for Lyme disease.

METHODS

We assembled a prospective cohort of children aged 1 to 21 years who were evaluated for Lyme disease at 1 of the 5 participating emergency departments. Treating physicians were asked to estimate the probability of Lyme disease (on a 10-point scale). We defined a Lyme disease case as a patient with an erythema migrans lesion or positive 2-tiered serology results in a patient with compatible symptoms. We calculated the area under the curve for the receiver operating curve as a measure of the ability of clinician suspicion to diagnose Lyme disease.

RESULTS

We enrolled 1021 children with a median age of 9 years (interquartile range, 5-13 years). Of these, 238 (23%) had Lyme disease. Clinician suspicion had a minimal ability to discriminate between children with and without Lyme disease: area under the curve, 0.75 (95% confidence interval, 0.71-0.79). Of the 554 children who the treating clinicians thought were unlikely to have Lyme disease (score 1-3), 65 (12%) had Lyme disease, and of the 127 children who the treating clinicians thought were very likely to have Lyme disease (score 8-10), 39 (31%) did not have Lyme disease.

CONCLUSIONS

Because clinician suspicion had only minimal accuracy for the diagnosis of Lyme disease, laboratory confirmation is required to avoid both under- and overdiagnosis.

Use of Traumatic Brain Injury Prediction Rules With Clinical Decision Support

OBJECTIVES

We determined whether implementing the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) traumatic brain injury (TBI) prediction rules and providing risks of clinically important TBIs (ciTBIs) with computerized clinical decision support (CDS) reduces computed tomography (CT) use for children with minor head trauma.

METHODS

Nonrandomized trial with concurrent controls at 5 pediatric emergency departments (PEDs) and 8 general EDs (GEDs) between November 2011 and June 2014. Patients were <18 years old with minor blunt head trauma. Intervention sites received CDS with CT recommendations and risks of ciTBI, both for patients at very low risk of ciTBI (no Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network rule factors) and those not at very low risk. The primary outcome was the rate of CT, analyzed by site, controlling for time trend.

RESULTS

We analyzed 16 635 intervention and 2394 control patients. Adjusted for time trends, CT rates decreased significantly (P < .05) but modestly (2.3%-3.7%) at 2 of 4 intervention PEDs for children at very low risk. The other 2 PEDs had small (0.8%-1.5%) nonsignificant decreases. CT rates did not decrease consistently at the intervention GEDs, with low baseline CT rates (2.1%-4.0%) in those at very low risk. The control PED had little change in CT use in similar children (from 1.6% to 2.9%); the control GED showed a decrease in the CT rate (from 7.1% to 2.6%). For all children with minor head trauma, intervention sites had small decreases in CT rates (1.7%-6.2%).

CONCLUSIONS

The implementation of TBI prediction rules and provision of risks of ciTBIs by using CDS was associated with modest, safe, but variable decreases in CT use. However, some secular trends were also noted.