Costs and benefits of skull radiography for head injury. A national study by the Royal College of Radiologists

Abstract

Over a period of 10 weeks, nine accident-and-emergency units in England, Wales, and Scotland took part in an investigation into the use of skull radiography in the management of patients with head injury. The yield of potentially important radiological findings in 4829 patients with uncomplicated head injury was 2 basal, 1 frontal, and 64 vault fractures. In 4 of these patients intracranial haematomas developed, of which 3 would have been suspected clinically and the patients admitted for observation even if skull radiography had not been available. At best, skull radiography could have contributed to the detection of only 1 of the 4 intracranial haematomas. The incidence of unsuspected intracranial haematomas. The incidence of unsuspected intracranial haematoma with skull fracture among patients with uncomplicated head injury currently radiographed in the United Kingdom is therefore 1 in 4800. The radiological cost of identifying this 1 patient in our series was 43,200 pounds.