Volume 26, Issue 128, October 2022

Diagnostic yield of computed tomography for suspected spine fracture in patients older than 50 years following fall down and predictors of emergency interventions: A retrospective study

Dunya N. Al Faraj¹, Hassan Y. Alhashim², Mustafa A. Alsaleh², Mohammed A. Albahrani², Taleb H. Aldandan², Rawan E. Alsulami^3♦, Abdulmonem A. Alsaleh⁴

¹Department of Emergency Medicine, King Fahd Hospital of the University, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
²College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
³Department of Emergency Medicine, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
⁴Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Mohammed Al-Mana College for Medical Sciences, Dammam 34222, Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Department of Emergency Medicine, Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Dhahran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: The National Emergency X-Ray Utilization Study criteria is used to determine the need for Computed tomography scan and reduce radiation exposure in suspected cervical spine injury cases. However, it is insufficient, and does not apply to injuries of the thoracic or lumbar spine. Objective: To identify predictors that indicate the use of computed tomography scan for spine fractures and to determine the factors that predict emergency treatment. Methods: This retrospective study is based on hospital records of patients over 50 years who presented to King Fahd Hospital of the University Emergency Department after falling and underwent Computed tomography. 1425 patient files were reviewed; among them 142 met the research criteria. Results: The median age was 68 years with an almost equal participation of both genders. A male gender, the need for hospital admission and high creatinine level were all found to be significantly associated with fracture (P-value = 0.049; 0.008 and 0.026, respectively). Conclusion: High creatinine level and being male might be used to indicate use of Computed tomography scan but these needs to be further studied.

Keywords: fall down, fracture, elderly, computed tomography, spinal fracture

Medical Science, 2022, 26, ms403e2364

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi/v26i128/ms403e2364

Published: 11 October 2022