Natural language processing predicts need for repeat head trauma CT

When do head trauma patients need repeat CT scans? When the report suggests the condition is worsening. However, a neuroradiologist review is time-consuming, and scans are sometimes repeated unnecessarily. By automating the process, California researchers hoped to improve CT utilization and cut radiation exposures from unneeded scans in this study to be presented on Monday morning.

"Traumatic brain injury affects millions of Americans each year," presenter Dr. Jason Johnson from the University of California, San Francisco told AuntMinnie.com. "Patients with head CT findings often receive routine follow-up examinations despite preliminary data that suggest against this practice."

The researchers developed a supervised natural language processing tool that can be used in conjunction with a patient registry to identify language associated with worsening head CT findings. They expect to use this tool to further explore clinical factors associated with worsening imaging findings to improve imaging utilization patterns.

The study team examined 625 patients who did not undergo initial operative management. Of these, 287 had a second CT exam, 172 had three scans, and 166 had more than three. The natural language processing algorithm was in accordance with the neuroradiologist's review 86% of the time, the group reported.