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| Author | Sami Jeljeli |
| Abstract | As a student radiographer, the researcher, on various occasions, sought the opinion of experienced radiographers as to whether skull x-rays (SXR's) reveal any type of abnormality related to recent head injury. In most cases, the experienced radiographers did not detect any type of skull fracture or other abnormality. This research project was designed to determine whether adopting the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) referral guidelines at the A&E Department of SLH would yield a rate of SXR referrals different from that obtained when the local guidelines are followed. The research instrument used in this study was a table comprising all the parameters necessary to classify the participants under the RCR risk categories. The results demonstrate that the RCR guidelines are more selective than their local counterpart since different management strategies are recommended by the RCR for the different types of head-injured patients. However, the sample size used in this study is small to be able to generalise findings as was done in the study by Hoban (1999), for instance. On the basis of the findings, recommendations are proposed to make Casualty medical officers aware of the importance of the RCR guidelines when referring head injured patients when admitted at the A&E Department, for skull radiography. Moreover, the researcher recommends that large-scale studies with the same objectives of this study be conducted in Malta. |
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| Key words | Radiography, Thesis, Skull X Ray, Head Injury, Guidelines |