Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
745
pubmed:dateCreated
1990-4-12
pubmed:abstractText
There has been, and continues to be, conflicting advice regarding skull radiography following an apparently uncomplicated head injury. Policies on admission are often ill defined. In 1983, representatives of the Royal College of Radiologists met neurosurgeons at a seminar in Harrogate organized by the DHSS and laid down clear, but little publicized, joint recommendations: "The Harrogate Criteria". The survey described here evaluated an existing liberal policy for skull radiography (and a loose policy for admissions) against these recommendations, and it was concluded that the number of patients having skull radiography (74% of head injury attenders) was excessive. Measured against the "Harrogate Criteria", requests for 36% of the adult and 47% of children's skull radiographs did not fulfil these criteria. As a corollary, it was also concluded that loose admissions policies could usefully be altered to comply more closely with the Harrogate recommendations. This would not necessarily reduce the numbers admitted, but would provide casualty officers with a framework on which to base this crucial aspect of clinical decision making, where presently there is often very little structure at all. The authors suggest that all the options have not been fully explored, and that a simple but important alteration to the Harrogate guidelines would provide an even closer link between policy on skull radiography and patient admission. Specifically, most patients who are to be admitted do not need skull radiographs.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
AIM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Jan
pubmed:issn
0007-1285
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
63
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
14-8
pubmed:dateRevised
2004-11-17
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1990
pubmed:articleTitle
Testing a policy for skull radiography (and admission) following mild head injury.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Radiology, Northwick Park Hospital and Clinical Research Centre, Harrow, Middlesex.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article