title: Do we routinely need cranial computed tomography for mild head injuries in Turkey?
abstract: The objectives of this study were to determine the role of clinical parameters in detecting intracranial injury and to find out whether cranial computed tomography (CT) is routinely needed for mild head injury (MHI) in Turkey. This retrospective study was conducted by reviewing the records of patients with MHI who underwent cranial CT in our emergency department. We carried out multiple logistic regression analysis, and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated by using SPSS 15.0. This study included 923 patients. Positive cranial CT findings were determined in 17 patients (1.8%) and six of them (0.6%) underwent surgery. Statistically significant correlations were found among headache, presence of clinical findings of skull fracture, focal neurological deficit and positive cranial CT findings. Although the incidence of the intracranial lesions, especially those requiring surgery, is low in MHI, the liberal use of CT scanning in MHI seems to be justified in countries such as Turkey.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Izmir Ataturk Research and Training Hospital, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ozcan
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yavaşi
authors.forename: Erol Erden
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Unlüer
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gün
authors.forename: Caner
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sağlam
authors.forename: Kamil
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kayayurt
authors.forename: Turgay Yilmaz
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Kiliç
authors.forename: Pinar Hanife
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Kara
authors.forename: Nergiz
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vandenberk
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult