For Anticoagulated Patients with Blunt Trauma, Repeat Head CTs Aren't Necessary

Fewer than 1% of patients developed intracranial hemorrhage at 6 hours after initially negative head computed tomography.

Patients who are taking anticoagulant or antiplatelet agents and who sustain blunt trauma often receive head computed tomography (CT), as rates of intracranial hemorrhage are significantly higher for them than for other patients (NEJM JW Emerg Med Mar 2020 and Ann Emerg Med 2020; 75:354). Studies have shown that patients with blunt trauma generally do not require repeat head CTs after initially negative CT scans (NEJM JW Gen Med Apr 1 2018 and JAMA Surg 2018; 153:570), but whether those findings apply to patients who take antithrombotic agents is unclear. These authors reviewed 5 years of data from their level 1 trauma center registry to determine whether repeat head CTs were cost-effective in such patients.

Almost 1700 patients (median age,…

Reviewing Author

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

For Anticoagulated Patients with Blunt Trauma, Repeat Head CTs Aren't Necessary

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Reviewing Author