CT Scans for All Kids with Head Injuries?
From high-profile former NFL players to soldiers returning from Afghanistan, the emerging picture of head trauma is not pretty. And of course the lingering, often-delayed effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) aren’t limited to adults.
We’ve talked about children at risk of concussion when they play sports, and how manufacturers are developing “anti-concussion” athletic equipment.
Writing on KevinMD.com, malpractice attorney Maxwell S. Kennerly suggested that some practitioners still aren’t taking head injuries to children seriously enough.
Last year, he noted, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported “a growing awareness among parents and coaches, and the public as a whole, about the need for individuals with a suspected TBI to be seen by a health-care professional.” He pointed to the CDC’s Heads Up initiative as exemplary of efforts to raise consciousness that seeing stars isn’t a badge of athletic honor, it’s a reason to seek medical care.
What remains questionable, Kennerly wrote, is how prepared emergency and primary care physicians are to handle the increased number of head trauma cases they’ll see as a result of greater awareness of the problem.
“Viewed through a narrow lens, the solution to a suspected brain injury is obvious,” he wrote. “[I] f a kid complains about anything relating to their head, give them a CT scan. But CT scans come with their own costs and risks, not least exposing a developing brain to a year’s worth of background radiation.”
Too often medicine overtreats patients because technology enables it, insurance pays for it and/or doctors are worried about being challenged if they fail to perform every test within reach. Often a more conservative approach is better for the patient.
But when it comes to kids and head injuries, in deciding whether to order a CT scan for a kid with new head trauma, Kennerly says the conservative treatment approach is wrong.
“I’m not here to tell you where the CT / no-CT line should be drawn,” Kennerly claimed. “I can tell you, however, how I would draw that line as a medical malpractice lawyer when a parent comes in and tells me their doctor didn’t order a CT scan after a minor head trauma and their child later developed serious sequelae [i.e., a brain injury]."
In the world of medical malpractice, such a circumstance is known as “failure to diagnose.” As Kennerly explained, laypeople—like jurors—might well respond to the concept of incremental risk a witness might offer to defend against the charge of failure to diagnose. “One head CT scan,” the witness might say, “has more radiation than 20,000 trips through the TSA scanner at the airport.”
That sounds scary. But is it scarier than risking chronic, lifelong problems with the ability to think, loss of memory, headaches, attention deficit, mood swings and the other markers of brain injury?
Kennerly cited an article published in the January issue of Critical Decisions in Emergency Medicine, “Evaluation of Minor Head Trauma in Pediatric Patients," that argues for CT scans for children who present with any evidence of brain trauma.
If you’re the parent of a child who has fallen from a great height, who has emerged woozy from a collision in soccer, who claims his or her vision is blurred from a bang on the noggin, take him or her to your physician or emergency room immediately. And if the child doesn't show full recovery of normal consciousness very quickly, without any symptoms of brain trouble, a CT scan could be in order.
A British website offers guidelines for CT scans for anyone younger than 16 with a head injury, and the CDC's Heads-Up site helps observers spot the signs of concussion. They are:
- loss of consciousness;
- loss of memory;
- abnormal drowsiness or sluggishness;
- nausea or vomiting;
- bruise, swelling or laceration on the head, behind the ears;
- bruising around the eyes ("panda" eyes);
- fluid leakage from ears or nose;
- confused, dazed or stunned appearance;
- personality changes;
- problems balancing or abnormal clumsiness;
- double or blurry vision; or
- abnormal sensitivity to light or noise.
Families interested in learning more about our firm's legal services, including legal representation for children who have suffered serious injuries in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia due to medical malpractice, defective products, birth-related trauma or other injuries, may ask questions or send us information about a particular case by phone or email. There is no charge for contacting us regarding your inquiry. An attorney will respond within 24 hours.
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