What are the head computed tomography scan rates in children presenting with headache to an Australian community teaching hospital emergency department?
- Author:
Sharon KLIM
1
;
David KRIESER
;
Anne Maree KELLY
Author Information
- Publication Type:Brief Communication
- Keywords: Child; Diagnostic Imaging; Emergencies; Headache; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
- MeSH: Child; Diagnostic Imaging; Emergencies; Emergency Service, Hospital; Epidemiology; Head; Headache; Hospitals, Teaching; Humans; Pathology; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
- From:Pediatric Emergency Medicine Journal 2019;6(1):31-33
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: We aimed to determine head computed tomography (CT) scan rate in the children presenting with non-traumatic headache who visited an Australian community teaching hospital emergency department. This was a planned substudy of an investigation of the epidemiology of headache in children presenting to the emergency department. A total of 225 children were studied; 6 underwent CT scan (CT scan rate, 2.7%; 95% confidence interval, 1.2–5.7). No intracranial pathology was identified. The rate was much lower than previously reported. The optimal CT scan rate for children presenting with headache remains unclear and is worthy of further research.
