European Society of Emergency Radiology authors set out three practice recommendations for whole-body CT in major trauma.
First, the protocol should be chosen by haemodynamic status and injury mechanism rather than a single universal protocol. Split-bolus, dual-phase and triple-phase techniques each trade radiation dose, scan time and diagnostic detail differently. Pregnancy, children and contrast allergy may need modified approaches.
Second, radiologists should work inside the trauma team: adapting protocols in real time and pointing the team directly to life-threatening injuries. Third, reporting should be systematic and checklist-driven, with defined routes for communicating critical findings.
These are recommendations from a society-endorsed review rather than new trial evidence. For Indian trauma centres, the protocol and reporting points apply directly; the embedded-radiologist model depends on staffing that many centres do not yet have overnight.
- Agree local whole-body CT protocols chosen by haemodynamic state and mechanism.
- Have a modified pathway ready for pregnancy, children and contrast allergy.
- Give an immediate verbal primary survey of life-threatening findings to the trauma team.
- Use a structured checklist for the full trauma report.
- Define who receives critical findings and how they are documented.
Why it matters
It shifts trauma CT from a fixed protocol to a team decision made in the scanner room.
Don't overread it
These are expert recommendations from a review, not the result of a comparative trial.
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