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Abstract

Trauma is a common presentation to hospital emergency departments in most societies. The dramatic increase in the demand for imaging following mild and moderate head trauma and the impact of radiation exposure have become a concern. This study aimed to determine the results of brain CT scans in patients referred to our center with minor head trauma and its correlation with clinical signs and symptoms. In this retrospective study, 709 patients with mild and moderate head trauma who referred to our center from 2022 to 2023 were included. The required data were extracted from the patients' medical records and analyzed using SPSS software version 26 at a confidence level of 95%. Of the 709 cases included 465 (65.6%) were male and 244 (34.4%) were female. Blunt trauma (93.2%) was the most common type. The most common mechanism of head trauma was traffic accidents (50.9%) followed by falling (35.4%).636 cases (89.7%) had normal and 73 cases (10.3%) had positive CT findings. The most common pathologic findings were linear skull fracture (3.7%) and hemorrhage (3.6%). In logistic regression analysis, injury severity and CT scan indication were significant predictors of abnormal brain CT scan results in patients with mild and moderate head trauma. A significant proportion of brain CT scans requested in patients with mild and moderate head trauma were unnecessary. Trauma patients who had more severe injuries and had indications for brain CT scanning were more likely to have abnormal CT scan results.