Table 2 Head injury activity at Barnet Hospital before and after implementation of the NICE guideline for head injury.
| 2003 (pre‐NICE) | 2004 NICE | p value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total no. of head injuries | 520 | 472 | |
| Total no. of CT scans performed | 12 | 36 | 0.0002* |
| No. of normal CT scans | 9 (75%) | 30 (83.3%) | |
| No. of head injuries out of hours | 347 | 308 | |
| Proportion of CT scans out of hours | 77.8% (7/9) | 73.3% (22/30) | >0.99† ns |
| Total no. of skull x rays taken | 59 | 2 | 0.0002† |
| No. of admissions | 40 | 44 | 0.42*ns |
| Average admission length of stay (days) | 3.85 | 3.86 | |
| Patients with normal CT findings admitted | 8/9 | 18/30 | |
| Reattendance figure (rate) | 4 (0.8%) | 13 (2.8%) | 0.0307† |
| Patients arriving by ambulance | 196 (37.7%) | 153 (32.4%) | 0.0946*ns |
Significant difference at p<0.05: *χ2 test; †Fisher's exact test
ns, not significant.