JAMA pediatrics
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Multicenter Study
Comparison of Machine Learning Optimal Classification Trees With the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network Head Trauma Decision Rules.
Computed tomographic (CT) scanning is the standard for the rapid diagnosis of intracranial injury, but it is costly and exposes patients to ionizing radiation. The Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) rules for identifying children with minor head trauma who are at very low risk of clinically important traumatic brain injury (ciTBI) are widely used to triage CT imaging. ⋯ If implemented, OCTs may help reduce the number of unnecessary CT scans, without missing more patients with ciTBI than the PECARN rules.