Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38279986›Full record

ArticleChild's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery2024

Utility of brain imaging in pediatric patients with a suspected accidental spinal injury but no brain injury-related symptoms.

Aapo Sirén, Mikko Nyman, Johanna Syvänen, Kimmo Mattila, Jussi Hirvonen

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Child's nervous system : ChNS : official journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Aapo SirénDepartment of Radiology, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, 20520, Turku, Finland. aapo.k.siren@utu.fi.ORCID 0000-0002-6822-1171
Mikko NymanDepartment of Radiology, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, 20520, Turku, Finland.ORCID 0000-0002-2104-6302
Johanna SyvänenDepartment of Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.ORCID 0000-0001-6275-5140
Kimmo MattilaDepartment of Radiology, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, 20520, Turku, Finland.ORCID 0000-0002-9522-9830
Jussi HirvonenDepartment of Radiology, University of Turku and Turku University Hospital, Kiinamyllynkatu 4-8, 20520, Turku, Finland.ORCID 0000-0002-0368-3746

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeImaging is the gold standard in diagnosing traumatic brain injury, but unnecessary scans should be avoided, especially in children and adolescents. Clinical decision-making rules often help to distinguish the patients who need imaging, but if spinal trauma is suspected, concomitant brain imaging is often conducted. Whether the co-occurrence of brain and spine injuries is high enough to justify head imaging in patients without symptoms suggesting brain injury is unknown.

objectiveThis study aims to assess the diagnostic yield of brain MRI in pediatric patients with suspected or confirmed accidental spinal trauma but no potential brain injury symptoms.

methodsWe retrospectively reviewed the medical and imaging data of pediatric patients (under 18 years old) who have undergone concomitant MRI of the brain and spine because of acute spinal trauma in our emergency radiology department over a period of 8 years. We compared the brain MRI findings in patients with and without symptoms suggesting brain injury and contrasted spine and brain MRI findings.

resultsOf 179 patients (mean age 11.7 years, range 0-17), 137 had symptoms or clinical findings suggesting brain injury, and 42 did not. None of the patients without potential brain injury symptoms had traumatic findings in brain MRI. This finding also applied to patients with high-energy trauma (n = 47) and was unrelated to spinal MRI findings.

conclusionPediatric accidental trauma patients with suspected or confirmed spine trauma but no symptoms or clinical findings suggesting brain injury seem not to benefit from brain imaging.

Indexed as

Brain InjuriesSpinal InjuriesAdolescentBrainCervical VertebraeChildChild, PreschoolHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMagnetic Resonance ImagingNeuroimagingRetrospective StudiesTomography, X-Ray ComputedBrainInjuryMagnetic resonance imagingPediatricsSpineTrauma

Identifiers

PMID38279986
PMCPMC11026267

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.