• Pediatric Skeletal Trauma: Use of Multiplanar Reformatted and Three-dimensional 64-Row Multidetector CT in the Emergency Department

    Laura M. Fayad, MD , Frank Corl, MS , Elliot K. Fishman, MD

    Orthopedic injuries account for one-half of all emergency department visits by pediatric patients in the United States. Although radiography is the first-line method of diagnosis in the emergency department, multi­detector computed tomography (CT) is playing an increasingly impor­tant role in definition of skeletal and soft-tissue injuries in the pediatric trauma patient. With the advent of 64-detector row CT, images can be produced with subsecond gantry rotation times and with submillimeter acquisition, which yield true isotropic high-resolution volume data sets. This technique is particularly advantageous in the evaluation of pedi­atric patients because it may eliminate the need for sedation and mini­mize dependence on patient cooperation. The role of three-dimensional volume imaging in the evaluation of fractures and soft-tissue injuries in pediatric patients continues to evolve as this technique increasingly enables detection and characterization of abnormalities and provides re­sults that affect decisions about patient care.