The effect of CT scanners in the trauma room - an observational study

BACKGROUND: A CT scanner incorporated in the trauma resuscitation bay may benefit trauma patients by fastening work-up times; however, evidence in the area is still sparse. We assessed if time from admission to first CT scan was lower after incorporation of a CT scanner in the resuscitation bay.

METHODS: We included trauma patients admitted in two 1-year periods, before and after a major rebuilding of the trauma room. Beforehand, one CT scanner was located in an adjacent room. After the rebuilding, two mobile CT scanners were placed in the resuscitation bays, where a moving gantry was combined with a trauma resuscitation table. Subgroup analyses were performed on severely injured and patients with traumatic brain injury.

RESULTS: We included 784 patients before and 742 patients after the reconstruction. Case-mix differed between study periods as there was a higher proportion of severe injuries, traumatic brain injury and penetrating trauma in the after period. We found a minor increase in time to CT in the after period (20 vs. 21 min, P = 0.008). In a multivariate regression analysis adjusted for differences in case-mix and with time to CT as outcome, period was an insignificant explanatory variable [β (before vs. after): 0.96 min 95% CI: 0.9-1.02, P = 0.3]. In both subgroups, we found no significant difference in time to CT.

CONCLUSION: We found no reduction in time to CT scan, when comparing a period with mobile CT scanners incorporated in the resuscitation bay to an earlier period with a CT scanner next to the trauma room.