The possibility of application of spiral brain computed tomography to traumatic brain injury

• Published in: The American journal of emergency medicine Vol. 32; no. 9; pp. 1051 - 1054
• Main Authors: Lim, Daesung, MD, Lee, Soo Hoon, MD, Kim, Dong Hoon, MD, PhD, Choi, Dae Seub, MD, PhD, Hong, Hoon Pyo, MD, PhD, Kang, Changwoo, MD, Jeong, Jin Hee, MD, Kim, Seong Chun, MD, Kang, Tae-Sin, MD
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.09.2014; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Advantages; Aged; Agreements; Brain - diagnostic imaging; Brain damage; Brain Hemorrhage, Traumatic - diagnostic imaging; Brain Injuries - diagnostic imaging; Computed tomography; Emergency; Emergency medical care; Female; Humans; Injuries; Male; Middle Aged; Neuroimaging - methods; Patients; Retrospective Studies; Tomography; Tomography, Spiral Computed; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0735-6757; 1532-8171
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ajem.2014.06.020

Abstract Objectives The spiral computed tomography (CT) with the advantage of low radiation dose, shorter test time required, and its multidimensional reconstruction is accepted as an essential diagnostic method for evaluating the degree of injury in severe trauma patients and establishment of therapeutic plans. However, conventional sequential CT is preferred for the evaluation of traumatic brain injury (TBI) over spiral CT due to image noise and artifact. We aimed to compare the diagnostic power of spiral facial CT for TBI to that of conventional sequential brain CT. Methods We evaluated retrospectively the images of 315 traumatized patients who underwent both brain CT and facial CT simultaneously. The hemorrhagic traumatic brain injuries such as epidural hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and contusional hemorrhage were evaluated in both images. Statistics were performed using Cohen's κ to compare the agreement between 2 imaging modalities and sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of spiral facial CT to conventional sequential brain CT. Results Almost perfect agreement was noted regarding hemorrhagic traumatic brain injuries between spiral facial CT and conventional sequential brain CT (Cohen's κ coefficient, 0.912). To conventional sequential brain CT, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of spiral facial CT were 92.2%, 98.1%, 95.9%, and 96.3%, respectively. Conclusion In TBI, the diagnostic power of spiral facial CT was equal to that of conventional sequential brain CT. Therefore, expanded spiral facial CT covering whole frontal lobe can be applied to evaluate TBI in the future.