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Current U.S. guidelines recommend head computed tomography (CT) for all patients taking warfarin who experience minor head injury. In a prospective study at a single emergency department in Italy, researchers evaluated outcomes in 97 adults with minor head injury who were taking warfarin, had normal initial head CT scans, and were admitted for 24-hour observation and repeat head CT (consistent with European guidelines). Minor head injury was defined as any head trauma other than superficial face injuries and Glasgow Coma Scale score of 14–15 regardless of presence or absence of loss of consciousness.
Ten patients declined the repeat CT scan (all were asymptomatic at 30 days). Of the 87 remaining patients, 5 (6%) had lesions detected on repea…