Objectives: A prospective observational study was aimed to assess the role of plain radiographs and computed tomography in detecting head injuries presented at the medicolegal office at the Forensics and Radiology Departments, Gambat Medical Hospital, Sindh. Material and Methods: All cases referred from the Medicolegal Office (MLO) with head injury were included. All victims underwent X-ray head and computed tomography skull was done with 1 or 1.5 cm thick axial sections without administration of intravenous contrast. The radiological reports of X-ray head and CT scans were documented and comparatively evaluated. Results: Mean age was 38.63 ± 3.91 years. In 51 (45.13%) cases, X-ray was able to detect skull fracture, while CT scan detected 64(56.64%) skull fractures. There were 54 (84.3%) true positives, 3 (2.6%) false positives, 10(8.8%) false negatives, and 40 (40.7%) true negatives. The accuracy of X-ray to detect skull fracture was 88.50%. Conclusion: X-ray had a sensitivity and specificity of 84.38% and 93.88%, respectively. It is a reliable tool to detect skull fractures in victims of assault in comparison with CT scans. X-ray is also associated with low dose radiation exposure as compared with CT scan which delivers 70 times more exposure than the former.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.