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European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery

Open Access 18-04-2024 | Original Article

No trauma-related diagnosis in emergency trauma room whole-body computer tomography of patients with inconspicuous primary survey

Authors: Arnold J. Suda, Julia Pepke, Udo Obertacke, Holger Stadthalter

Published in: European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery

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Abstract

Purpose

Whole-body computer tomographic examinations (WBCT) are essential in diagnosing the severely injured. The structured clinical evaluation in the emergency trauma room, according to ATLS® and guidelines, helps to indicate the correct radiological imaging to avoid overtriage and undertriage. This retrospective, single-center study aimed to evaluate the value of WBCT in patients with an inconspicuous primary survey and whether there is any evidence for this investigation in this group of patients.

Methods

This retrospective, single-center study was conducted with patients admitted to a maximum-care hospital and supraregional trauma center in Germany and part of the TraumaNetwork DGU® in southwest Germany between January 2012 and November 2017. Hospital files were used for evaluation, and WBCT was carried out using a 32-row MSCT device from Siemens Healthineers, Volume Zoom, Erlangen, Germany. For evaluation, non-parametric procedures such as the chi-square test, U test, Fisher test, and Wilcoxon rank sum test were used to test for significance (p < 0.05).

Results

From 3976 patients treated with WBCT, 120 patients (3.02%) showed an inconspicuous primary survey. This examination did not reveal any trauma sequelae in any of this group. Additionally, 198 patients (4.98%) showed minor clinical symptoms in the primary survey, but no morphological trauma sequence could be diagnosed in WBCT diagnostics. Three hundred forty-two patients were not admitted as inpatients after WBCT and discharged to further outpatient treatment because there were no objectifiable reasons for inpatient treatment. Four hundred fifteen patients did not receive WBCT for, e.g., isolated extremity trauma, child, pregnancy, or death.

Conclusion

Not one of the clinically asymptomatic patients had an imageable injury after WBCT diagnostics in this study. WBCT should only be performed in severely injured patients after clinical assessment regardless of “trauma mechanism.” According to guidelines and ATLS®, the clinical examination seems to be a safe and reliable method for reasonable and responsible decision-making regarding the realization of WBCT with all well-known risk factors.
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Metadata
Title
No trauma-related diagnosis in emergency trauma room whole-body computer tomography of patients with inconspicuous primary survey
Authors
Arnold J. Suda
Julia Pepke
Udo Obertacke
Holger Stadthalter
Publication date
18-04-2024
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in
European Journal of Trauma and Emergency Surgery
Print ISSN: 1863-9933
Electronic ISSN: 1863-9941
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00068-024-02511-0