Accuracy of clinician practice compared with three head injury decision rules in children: a prospective cohort study

Study Objective: Three clinical decision rules for head injuries in children (Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network [PECARN], Canadian Assessment of Tomography for Childhood Head Injury [CATCH], and Children's Head Injury Algorithm for the Prediction of Important Clinical Events [CHALICE]) have been shown to have high performance accuracy. The utility of any of these in a particular setting depends on preexisting clinician accuracy. We therefore assess the accuracy of clinician practice in detecting clinically important traumatic brain injury. Methods: This was a planned secondary analysis of a prospective observational study of children younger than 18 years with head injuries at 10 Australian and New Zealand centers. In a cohort of children with mild head injuries (Glasgow Coma Scale score 13 to 15, presenting in