Primary Article

Intracranial Abnormalities Requiring Emergency Treatment: Identification by a Single Midline Tomographic Slice Versus Complete CT of the Head

Authors: LAWRENCE M. LEWIS, MD, GARY KRAUS, MD, ERIC AWWAD, MD, TERRI HOFFMAN, JOHN P. FORNEY, MD

Abstract

We retrospectively reviewed 89 noncontrast computerized tomographic scans of the head in trauma patients to determine whether a single midline image could reliably identify intracranial lesions significant enough to warrant emergency surgery. We found that a midline cut was able to detect 92% of all lesions for which emergency neurosurgical evacuation was considered necessary, though it detected only 71% of the more subtle abnormalities.

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