Ability of emergency ultrasonography to detect pediatric skull fractures: a prospective, observational study.

Background: Blunt head trauma is a common reason for medical evaluation in the pediatric Emergency Department (ED). The diagnostic work-up for skull fracture, as well as for traumatic brain injury, often involves computed tomography (CT) scanning, which may require sedation and exposes children to often-unnecessary ionizing radiation.

Objectives: Our objective was to determine if bedside ED ultrasound is an accurate diagnostic tool for identifying skull fractures when compared to head CT.