Comparison of PECARN, CATCH, and CHALICE clinical decision rules for pediatric head injury in the emergency department

Abstract

Clinical question What is the diagnostic accuracy of the PECARN, CATCH, and CHALICE clinical decision rules for pediatric head injury, and are the clinical decision rules valid when applied to a novel data set?Article chosen Babl FE, Borland ML, Phillips N, et al. Accuracy of PECARN, CATCH, and CHALICE head injury decision rules in children: a prospective cohort study. Lancet (London, England) 2017;389(10087):2393-402.Objectives The primary objective of the study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy and provide external validation for the PECARN, CATCH, and CHALICE clinical decision rules in a clinically homogeneous cohort of children. The secondary objective of this study was to perform a direct comparison of the three decision rules by assessing for the presence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on computed tomography (CT) or the requirement for neurointervention.