Tomography in polytraumatized patients and their outcomes with death: literature review

Abstract

Whole body computed tomography is highly sensitive and represents the gold standard in the trauma room diagnostic setting. WBCT provides a rapid diagnostic tool that reduces mortality in critically injured patients. Traumatic injury is the third leading cause of death overall. To optimize outcomes in these patients, hospitals employ whole-body computed tomography (WBCT) imaging because of its high diagnostic throughput and potential to identify missed lesions. However, this delays time-critical interventions. Currently, there is an absence of any high-level evidence to support or refute either view. A systematic literature search was performed in MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and other electronic databases. Publications were eligible if they contained original data comparing immediate whole-body CT in trauma patients and association with mortality. The analysis shows that CT is associated with better results, including a lower overall mortality rate, however randomized and controlled studies deserve to be performed in order to reliably establish this relationship.