Evaluation of computed tomography use in emergency department orthopedic trauma patients
Ahmet İmerci1, Ahmet Kaya2, Muhammet Bozoğlan3, Gürhan Adam4, Umut Canbek5, Ahmet Savran2
1Department Of Orthopaedics And Traumatology, Erzurum Palandoken State Hospital, Erzurum, Turkey
2Department Of Orthopaedics And Traumatology, Tepecik Education And Research Hospital, Izmir, Turkey
3Department Of Orthopaedics And Traumatology, Mardin Derik State Hospital, Mardin, Turkey
4Department Of Radiology, Çanakkale 18 Mart University, Çanakkale, Turkey
5Department Of Orthopaedics And Traumatology, Mugla Sıtkı Kocman University Mugla,turkey
Keywords: computed tomography, emergency room, trauma, radiation
Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the necessity of CT scans requested for spine, extremity and pelvis examinations of emergency orthopedic trauma patients.
Methods: We screened the medical records of the patients who had a CT scan during their ED evaluation retrospectively. All data were also classified as child (aged 0-14) and adult (aged 14 +).
Results: Out of 32.685 patients examined in child and adult emergency trauma unit over one year, 1.664 were asked for an extremity, pelvis and spine CT (7,02 %). The mean age of the patients was 38,6 (2-94). Of all patients, 145 of the computed tomography scan (CTs) (80.1 %) in child group and 1.108 CTs (74.7 %) in adult group were found to be negative.
Conclusions: Unnecessary use of CT in the emergency department, for examining orthopaedic trauma patients draws attention. Considering the risk of radiation to the patient, it is thought to be necessary to develop protocols for choosing the right patient for tomography