Does the evidence justify routine transfer of residents of aged care facilities for CT scan after minor head trauma?

Background: In 2014, the South Australian coroner recommended that residents of residential aged care facilities (RACF) who had sustained a head injury should be transported to emergency departments (ED) for assessment and a head CT scan, with the view to preventing mortality. The evidence base for the recommendation is unclear.

Aims: To determine the rate of emergent intervention (neurosurgery, transfusion of blood products or reversal of anti-coagulation) in residents transferred to ED with minor head trauma who had their usual cognitive function on ED assessment.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study by medical records review at two university-affiliated community ED. Participants were patients from RACF attending ED who had suffered minor head trauma and had their usual cognitive function. Exclusions were altered conscious state, new neurological findings or associated orthopaedic injury requiring hospital admission. The primary outcome was rate of emergent intervention in residents transferred to ED with minor head trauma who had their usual cognitive function on ED assessment.

Results: A total of 366 patients was studied; median age 86 years, 45% taking anti-coagulant/anti-platelet medication. Eighty per cent underwent head CT. Six per cent had intracranial haemorrhage (ICH; 95% CI 4-8.9%). No patient underwent neurosurgery. One had emergent intervention, reversal of anti-coagulation (0.3%, 95% CI 0.05-1.5%).

Conclusion: The rate of emergent intervention for ICH in patients from RACF who sustained a minor head trauma but had their normal cognitive function was <1%. None underwent neurosurgical intervention. The low rate of intervention seriously challenges the appropriateness of routine transfer and CT for this patient group.