CT C-spine Audit and Feedback

Audit and Feedback for Computed Tomography of the Cervical Spine in the Emergency Department

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT05711134

Enrollment

Registered

2023-02-02

Start date

2023-05-01

Completion date

2023-10-31

Last updated

2023-11-09

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

Conditions

Cervical Spine Injury, Emergencies, Trauma

Keywords

computed tomography, resource utilization, NEXUS, emergency medicine

Brief summary

This is a prospective quality improvement study to assess the effect of using an audit-and-feedback process for emergency providers on utilization of computed tomography of the cervical spine. The objective of this study is to determine whether providing repeated individualized feedback on CT C-spine utilization to emergency providers alters their practice pattern and reduces overutilization. The investigators hypothesize that emergency providers who receive individualized feedback regarding their CT C-spine utilization on a regular basis will alter their practice pattern to reduce overutilization of this imaging study.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALAudit and Feedback on Individual Practice Patterns

Providers are given feedback on their practice patterns of ordering computed tomography of the cervical spine.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Masking

DOUBLE (Subject, Caregiver)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Emergency medicine physician, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant * Ordered at least 5 CT scans of the cervical spine on adult patients in the two-month pre-intervention period

Exclusion criteria

* Non-emergency providers * Ordered few than 5 studies in the pre-intervention period

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Percent NEXUS-Negative	6 months	Percentage of CT C-spine studies that an individual provider ordered on NEXUS-negative patients

Secondary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Number of Fractures	6 months	Number of cervical spine fractures identified on CT for patients who are NEXUS-negative
Clinically Significant Fractures	6 months	Number of cervical spine fractures identified on CT for patients who are NEXUS-negative that required procedural intervention, hospitalization, or prolonged immobilization
Number of CTs	6 months	Number of CT scans of the cervical spine ordered by each provider

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

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