2024/09/30 by Michael Lousick, Serena Edwards, Gerben Keijzers +1 · 1 voice · 3 citations
Medicine · #Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation #Poisoning and overdose treatments #Traumatic Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disturbances
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/1742-6723.14510
openalex publication_date 2024/09/30 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
OBJECTIVE: Describe the yield of computed tomography brain (CTB) scans in patients intubated for drug overdose. METHODS: Retrospective descriptive study using existing registry data from two Australian EDs between February 2021 and June 2022. RESULTS: Two hundred and six patients were intubated; 159 (77%) received a post-intubation CTB scan. Of these, 38 out of 159 (24%) had a documented indication (i.e. head injury and seizure) for their scans, with a yield of 5.3% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.5-17%). Of the 121 out of 159 (76%) patients without an indication, the yield of CTB was 0% (95% CI = 0-3%). CONCLUSIONS: Routine imaging of patients intubated for overdose without clinical indication is unjustified.