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Iacobellis F, Brillantino A, Di Serafino M, Dell'Aversano Orabona G, Grassi R, Cappabianca S, Scaglione M, Romano L. Economic and clinical benefits of immediate total-body CT in the diagnostic approach to polytraumatized patients: a descriptive analysis through a literature review. Radiol Med 2022; 127:637-644. [PMID: 35553349 DOI: 10.1007/s11547-022-01495-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Major trauma is an event causing injuries that may determine an immediate or potential risk to the patient survival. A correct management of major trauma is decisive in reducing disability, which has relevance both from the point of view of the quality of life of the single individual and from the point of view of health expenditure. The primary clinical approach to the polytraumatized patients is managed, in most cases, as outlined in the guidelines of Advanced Trauma Life Support, proposing conventional radiological investigations, such as chest and pelvis x-ray, and of FAST (focused abdominal sonography in trauma)/E-FAST (extended FAST) examinations, followed by selective targeted computed tomography (CT). This approach is questionable and is increasingly common in clinical practice the adoption of the immediate total-body CT in the diagnostic approach to the hemodynamically stable polytraumatized patient. However, the potential advantages of such conduct both in terms of clinical benefits and in terms of cost-effectiveness still need to be discussed. The objective of this review article consists of a descriptive analysis of the economic and clinical benefits of the adoption of immediate total-body CT in polytrauma patients through a literature review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Iacobellis
- Department of General and Emergency Radiology, "A. Cardarelli" Hospital, Via A. Cardarelli 9, 80131, Naples, Italy.
| | - Antonio Brillantino
- Department of Emergency Surgery, "A. Cardarelli" Hospital, Via A. Cardarelli 9, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | - Marco Di Serafino
- Department of General and Emergency Radiology, "A. Cardarelli" Hospital, Via A. Cardarelli 9, 80131, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Roberto Grassi
- Department of Radiology, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Piazza Miraglia 2, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Salvatore Cappabianca
- Department of Radiology, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Piazza Miraglia 2, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - Mariano Scaglione
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Sassari, Via Roma 151, 07100, Sassari, Italy.,Department of Radiology, The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, TS4 3BW, UK.,School of Health and Life Sciences, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, TS1 3BX, UK
| | - Luigia Romano
- Department of General and Emergency Radiology, "A. Cardarelli" Hospital, Via A. Cardarelli 9, 80131, Naples, Italy
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Avoiding immediate whole-body trauma CT: a prospective observational study in stable trauma patients. Updates Surg 2022; 74:343-353. [PMID: 35001252 DOI: 10.1007/s13304-021-01199-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 10/25/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
High energy blunt trauma patients with normal vital signs are usually investigated with a Contrast Enhanced Computed Tomography (CECT) for torso injuries. CECT involves high levels of radiations, often showing no injuries in patients over-triaged to the trauma center. The aim of our study was to suggest an alternative diagnostic protocol based on Emergency Room (ER) tests (physical exam, blood tests, extended FAST, Chest and Pelvis X-ray) to avoid CECT in selected patients. A prospective cohort study was conducted from September 2018 to September 2019. Five hundred patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Patients received torso-CECT scan only if they had at least one positive ER test. The validity of the single component of the protocol and the global validity of the ER tests to detect torso injuries was assessed through sensitivity, specificity, positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive value, positive (+ LR) and negative (- LR) likelihood ratio. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify independent predictors of torso injuries. One hundred and seventy patients received a torso-CECT scan because of positive ER tests. ER tests showed a global sensitivity for torso injuries of 86.96% (95% CI 80.17-92.08) specificity of 83.98%(95% CI 79.79-87.60), PPV of 67.42% (95% CI 61.83-72.54), NPV of 94.41% (95% CI 91.63-96.30) + LR of 5.43 (95% CI 4.25-6.93), - LR of 0.16 (95% CI 0.10-0.24). ER tests in an experienced center seem to be able to identify more severe blunt trauma patients needing CECT. Further studies are advisable to confirm these results.
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Treskes K, Sierink JC, Edwards MJR, Beuker BJA, Van Lieshout EMM, Hohmann J, Saltzherr TP, Hollmann MW, Van Dieren S, Goslings JC, Dijkgraaf MGW. Cost-effectiveness of immediate total-body CT in patients with severe trauma (REACT-2 trial). Br J Surg 2021; 108:277-285. [PMID: 33793734 PMCID: PMC10364909 DOI: 10.1093/bjs/znaa091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Revised: 09/05/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The effect of immediate total-body CT (iTBCT) on health economic aspects in patients with severe trauma is an underreported issue. This study determined the cost-effectiveness of iTBCT compared with conventional radiological imaging with selective CT (standard work-up (STWU)) during the initial trauma evaluation. METHODS In this multicentre RCT, adult patients with a high suspicion of severe injury were randomized in-hospital to iTBCT or STWU. Hospital healthcare costs were determined for the first 6 months after the injury. The probability of iTBCT being cost-effective was calculated for various levels of willingness-to-pay per extra patient alive. RESULTS A total of 928 Dutch patients with complete clinical follow-up were included. Mean costs of hospital care were €25 809 (95 per cent bias-corrected and accelerated (bca) c.i. €22 617 to €29 137) for the iTBCT group and €26 155 (€23 050 to €29 344) for the STWU group, a difference per patient in favour of iTBCT of €346 (€4987 to €4328) (P = 0.876). Proportions of patients alive at 6 months were not different. The proportion of patients alive without serious morbidity was 61.6 per cent in the iTBCT group versus 66.7 per cent in the STWU group (difference -5.1 per cent; P = 0.104). The probability of iTBCT being cost-effective in keeping patients alive remained below 0.56 for the whole group, but was higher in patients with multiple trauma (0.8-0.9) and in those with traumatic brain injury (more than 0.9). CONCLUSION Economically, from a hospital healthcare provider perspective, iTBCT should be the diagnostic strategy of first choice in patients with multiple trauma or traumatic brain injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Treskes
- Trauma Unit, Department of Surgery, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Location AMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - J C Sierink
- Trauma Unit, Department of Surgery, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Location AMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - M J R Edwards
- Trauma Unit, Department of Surgery, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - B J A Beuker
- Trauma Unit, Department of Surgery, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - E M M Van Lieshout
- Trauma Unit, Department of Surgery, Erasmus MC, University Medical Centre Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - J Hohmann
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - T P Saltzherr
- Department of Surgery, Haaglanden Medical Centre, Den Haag, the Netherlands
| | - M W Hollmann
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Amsterdam UMC, Location AMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - S Van Dieren
- Department of Surgery, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Location AMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - J C Goslings
- Trauma Unit, Department of Surgery, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Location AMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.,Department of Surgery, Onze Lieve Vrouwe Gasthuis, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - M G W Dijkgraaf
- Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam University Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Ledrick D, Payvandi A, Murray AC, Leskovan JJ. Is There a Need for Abdominal CT Scan in Trauma Patients With a Low-Risk Mechanism of Injury and Normal Vital Signs? Cureus 2020; 12:e11628. [PMID: 33376642 PMCID: PMC7755665 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.11628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Clinically significant injuries are often missed in trauma patients with low-risk mechanisms of injury and lack of "red flags," such as abnormal vital signs. The purpose of this retrospective analysis was to evaluate the efficacy of computed axial tomography (CT) for identifying occult injuries in a high-volume trauma center. Methods Records from our institutional trauma registry were retrospectively extracted, examining encounters from January 2015 to October 2019. Those patients between the ages of 18 and 65 who were referred to the trauma team with a CT scan of the abdomen and had low-risk mechanisms of injury, a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 15, and normal vital signs at presentation were included. Patients in the lowest trauma categorization (Level Three, Consult) met the study definition for the low-risk mechanism of injury. Demographic and clinical data were abstracted for all patients. For this analysis, patients were divided into two groups based on age (18 - 40 years or 40 - 65 years). Injuries found on CT, their clinical significance, and the likelihood of being missed without CT were determined. Results Of 2,103 blunt trauma patients that received a CT scan of the abdomen from January 2015 to October 2019, 134/2,103 (6.4%) met the inclusion criteria (mean age: 44.6 years; 72.3% male). Patients between the ages of 40 and 65 years comprised 61.2% (82/134) of the study population. Of the included patients, 17.2% (23/134) had at least one acute traumatic injury identified after CT imaging of the torso. Occult injuries found on CT included rib fracture with associated lung injuries (10/23, 43.5%), splenic laceration (4/23, 17.4%), liver laceration (3/23, 13.0%), gluteal hematoma with active bleeding (1/23, 4.3%), sternal fractures (3/23, 13.0%), and thoracic or lumbar spine fractures (2/23, 8.7%). An independent review of the medical records determined that 9.0% (12/134) of these patients had traumatic injuries that would have been missed based on clinical examination without CT. Conclusions Based on our experience, utilizing CT imaging of at least the abdomen as a routine screening measure for all trauma consults - even low-risk patients with normal vital signs - can rapidly and accurately identify clinically significant injuries that would have been otherwise missed in a notable portion of the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Ledrick
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, Toledo, USA
| | - Alexander Payvandi
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, Toledo, USA
| | - Adam C Murray
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, Toledo, USA
| | - John J Leskovan
- Department of Trauma Surgery, Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, Toledo, USA
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Gartin CG, Reyes J, Helmer SD, Haan JM. Injury patterns and incidence of intra-abdominal injuries in elderly ground level fall patients: Is the PAN-SCAN warranted? Am J Surg 2019; 218:847-850. [DOI: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2018.11.041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Revised: 11/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW To provide an update on the relevant and recent studies on whole-body computed tomography (WBCT) imaging of severely injured patients. RECENT FINDINGS The advantages of WBCT in time saving, diagnostic accuracy and even in survival have been proven in numerous studies. WBCT can also be beneficial in haemodynamically unstable major trauma patients. The CT scanner should be located close to the emergency department or even in the trauma room. The issue of radiation is still quite important, however, iterative as well as split-bolus protocols can nowadays reduce radiation significantly. The question: which trauma patient should receive WBCT and which not is not yet solved sufficiently. Postmortem WBCT has a promising potential to promptly define the definitive cause of death of trauma victims comparably to traditional autopsy. SUMMARY On account of the recent advances, whole-body CT has become a crucial part of the initial in-hospital assessment of severely injured patients. It is recommended as the standard radiological tool for the emergency diagnostic work-up in major trauma patients.
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