Hospitalising children with clear CTs is 'unnecessary'

Scientists have discovered that children with normal CT scans after a blunt head trauma do not need hospitalisation.

The study by the University of California, published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, involved the observation of thousands of children taken to hospital following minor blunt head trauma across the US.

It found that of the 13,500 children included in the study, less than one per cent had subsequent abnormal CT scans or MRIs and none of them needed to undergo surgery.

Blunt head trauma is the leading cause of death in children over the age of one, however the scientists found that those with minor trauma with clear CT scans are at a very low risk of subsequent findings and are incredibly unlikely to need surgical intervention.

"We now have definitive evidence supporting discharging most neurologically normal children with head trauma after negative CT scans home from the Emergency Department," said James Homes, professor of emergency medicine in the UC Davis School of Medicine and the study's lead author and co-investigator.

"Sending these patients home with their parents not only provides good, safe care but it also saves costs. It is a win for everyone concerned."