Volume 27, Issue 137, July 2023

Knowledge of CT scan indication for traumatic brain injury among emergency medical professionals

Ali Hassan A Ali^1,2♦, Omar O Serhan³, Mohammed Saad Alqahtani⁴, Ziyad Alghofaili⁵, Ibrahim Mohammed Alobaidi⁶, Bandar Suliman S Alsultan⁶, Talal A Alharbi⁶, Ali Ababtain⁶, Bader M Alotaibi⁶, Ammar H Alenazi⁶, Fahd M Alanazi⁶, Tareq A Althubiti⁷, Yousef Fudhayl F Alanazi⁸

¹Anatomy Department, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, KSA
²Anatomy Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt
³Radiology Department, King Khalid Hospital, Ministry of Health, Al-Kharj, KSA
⁴Internal Medicine Department, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, KSA
⁵Emergency Department, King Khalid Hospital, Ministry of Health, Al-Kharj, KSA
⁶College of Medicine, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, KSA
⁷College of Medicine, Vision colleges, Riyadh, KSA
⁸College of Medicine, Northern Borders University, Arar, KSA

^♦Corresponding author
Anatomy Department, College of Medicine, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj 11942, KSA and Anatomy Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt

ABSTRACT

One of the most frequent reasons for trauma hospitalizations is a minor head injury, but how best to handle them is still up for debate. Although clinically severe traumatic brain injury is uncommon in this group, it could be fatal if a clinically important condition is overlooked. This study aims to assess emergency physicians' knowledge of and adherence to these head CT guidelines. We questioned our participants about their knowledge of the regulations and how they applied to their professional lives. A survey was issued at random to EPs from King Khaled Hospital in Al-Kharj. Among the 74 emergency room doctors who replied, the utilization rates and awareness of clinical decision rules were respectively 55.5% and 43.3%. The working atmosphere and higher likelihood of lawsuits, which were 54.6% and 59.6% respectively, were the hurdles to using such policies. 89.9% of those doctors said they would like direction on how to put these standards into effect on a daily basis. Despite the large incidence of head traumas, there is confusion over what constitutes a minor head injury that led to requests for more CT scans. The healthcare system will be burdened, and there will be an increase in radiation exposure. A better use of our resources and a decrease in radiation risks will come from more education about head CT regulations.

Keywords: Emergency, CT scan, Knowledge, Head Injury

Medical Science, 2023, 27, e295ms3108

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v27i137/e295ms3108

Published: 18 July 2023