University of Michigan
This is a pragmatic, open-label, multicenter, stepped-wedge, Type II hybrid effectiveness-implementation study. It is designed to evaluate both the comparative effectiveness and implementation feasibility of a biomarker-plus-clinical guidelines algorithm to reduce low-value brain computed tomography (CT) use in emergency department (ED) patients evaluated for suspected traumatic brain injury (TBI). The biomarkers are Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) and Carboxy-terminal Hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1), two brain-injury proteins cleared by the FDA to support brain CT imaging decisions after trauma. All six participating EDs will contribute baseline data for the first 6 months under usual care (clinical guidelines only). Beginning in month 7, two sites will transition to implementing the biomarker-guided algorithm. At month 13, two additional sites will implement the biomarker-guided approach, and the final two sites will transition at month 19. By the end of the 24-month rollout period, all sites will have implemented the biomarker-guided pathway.
Inclusion * Age ≥18 years at the time of the emergency department visit. * Presentation to a participating emergency department following a traumatic injury mechanism (motor vehicle collision, fall from height, assault, head injury/head trauma/head strike, struck by or against an object, facial injury or laceration, or other general trauma). Presentations may also include alcohol intoxication or syncope when associated with a suspected traumatic brain injury. * Evidence of potential head or brain injury, defined as (i) the head being struck by an object, (ii) the head striking a hard object o…
Patients will be managed using an algorithm that integrates the Canadian Head CT Rule (CHCR) with iSTAT whole-blood GFAP and UCH-L1 testing. Patients who meet CHCR criteria for CT imaging and those whose CT imaging decision-making is not covered by CHCR (e.g., no loss of consciousness or amnesia) will receive iSTAT testing. Sites will be assigned to one of three implementation waves, with two sites transitioning to the Guidelines + Biomarkers phase every six months. Prior to their assigned transition, sites will continue to use guidelines alone. Once a site transitions to the Guidelines + Biomarkers phase, the integrated biomarker-guided algorithm will become the standard-of-care protocol at that site for eligible patients and will remain the standard of care for the remainder of the study.
During the baseline phase, sites will rely solely on established clinical guidelines to guide brain CT utilization in patients with suspected TBI. Specifically, providers will apply the Canadian CT Head Rule, a validated decision instrument that identifies patients at high risk for clinically important brain injury who require CT imaging. All sites will begin in this Guidelines-Only baseline phase and will continue using this approach until their assigned transition to the Guidelines + Biomarkers phase. Sites will transition in three waves, with two sites transitioning every six months.