Head imaging in suspected non accidental injury in the paediatric population. In the advent of volumetric CT imaging, has the skull X-ray become redundant?

AIM: To assess whether the inclusion of skull radiography, as part of the skeletal survey performed in suspected non-accidental injury (NAI), is still justified when volume computed tomography (CT) of the head has also been performed.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This was a retrospective study which included 94 patients aged between 24 days and 23 months who presented to the Emergency Department between August 2014 to July 2016 and had subsequent investigations for suspected NAI. Patients were identified from the local radiology systems (Carestream PACS and CRIS) using strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria were any suspected NAI patient who had both unenhanced volume CT head and skull radiography during the same episode of presentation. Any child with suspected NAI who only had one of either CT or radiographs of the skull (and not both) were excluded.

RESULTS

None of the cases reviewed demonstrated additional findings on skull X-rays that were not demonstrated on the CT head. Due to the starkness of this result, the confidence interval is 0-3.9%. In two cases, additional bony findings were demonstrated on the CT head which were not evident on the skull X-rays.

CONCLUSION

Skull X-rays could be excluded from the NAI skeletal survey without missing intracranial injuries or skull fractures in cases where a contemporaneous volumetric CT head is also performed.