Animated Picture to Improve Provider Adherence to CT Scan for Head Injury Rule

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01514071

Enrollment

746

Registered

2012-01-20

Start date

2012-02-29

Completion date

2013-07-31

Last updated

2013-07-31

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Minor Head Injury

Keywords

head injury, CT, emergency, radiation

Brief summary

It is difficult for Pediatric Emergency Department providers to recognize clinically significant head injuries that are likely to require neurosurgical intervention or close monitoring from those that can be safely discharged. Research Question How do a combination of education and an animated picture depicting the PECARN CT Head Injury rules impact compliance to these rules and reduce unnecessary head CT scans? Design This is a within subject, repeated measures study design.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALPop-up picture

An animated picture depicting the key elements of the PECARN CT scan head injury rules will be explained. The picture will pop-up when a provider selects the order set for a CT scan due to head injury. Providers will need to select a box stating the patient either meets criteria or does not meet criteria in order to close the animated picture window.

Study design

Allocation

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

DIAGNOSTIC

Masking

NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

No minimum to 18 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Patients presenting to Children's ED will be included if they: * Are between 0 and 18 years of age (inclusive) * Receive a discharge diagnosis of head injury * Present to the ED within 24 hours of the head injury * GCS of 14 or greater

Exclusion criteria

* Patients will be excluded if they : * Had a CT scans done in an outside transferring institution * Have obvious penetrating head injuries * Had a trivial injury mechanisms such as ground-level falls or walking or running into stationary objects * Have no signs or symptoms of head trauma other than scalp abrasions and lacerations. * Have known brain tumors, pre-existing neurological disorders complicating assessment, ventricular shunts, bleeding disorders

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Compliance to the PECARN CT Scan Head Injury rules	3 months

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Decreased rate of CT scans	3 months

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026