OBJECTIVE: About half of pediatric blunt trauma patients undergo an abdominopelvic computed tomographic (CT) scan, while few of these require intervention for an intraabdominal injury. We evaluated the effectiveness of an evidence-based
guideline for blunt abdominal trauma at a Level I pediatric trauma center.
METHODS: Pediatric blunt trauma patients (n = 998) age 0-15 years who presented from the injury scene were evaluated over a 10 year period. After five years, we implemented our
guideline in which the decision for CT was standardized based on mental status, abdominal examination, and laboratory results (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, hemoglobin, urinalysis).
RESULTS: There were no differences in age, GCS, SIPA or ISS scores between the patients before or after
guideline implementation. Nearly half of the patients (48.3%) underwent CT scan before
guideline implementation compared to 36.7% after (p < 0.0002). There was no difference in ISS (p = 0.44) between CT scanned patients in either group. No statistical differences were found in rate of intervention (p = 0.20), length of stay (p = 0.65), or readmission rate (0.2%) before versus after guideline implementation. There were no missed injuries.
CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of an evidence-based clinical
guideline for pediatric patients with blunt abdominal trauma decreases the rate of CT utilization while accurately identifying significant injuries.
METHODS: III.
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