However, patients who experience loss of consciousness might be at greater risk for hemorrhage and warrant repeat CT scans 24 hours after injury.
Do anticoagulated patients with minor closed-head injury require repeat head computed tomography (CT) after in-hospital observation for 24 hours? Researchers prospectively studied 137 consecutive patients (mean age, 76) at a single hospital in Spain who were taking warfarin and had normal initial head CT scans after minor closed-head injury (defined as documented loss of consciousness [LOC] or evidence of post-traumatic amnesia and Glasgow Coma Scale score of 14–15 at presentation). Anticoagulation was continued, and patients underwent serial neurological examinations every 4 to 6 hours and second CT scans 20 to 24 hours after the first scan. Mean international normalized ratio was 3.8. Median time from injury to first CT was 3.2 hours.
Two …