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The adherence to guidelines for facial radiography in an Accident & Emergency Department
1Department of Oral & Maxillofacial/Head & Neck Surgery, North Staffordshire Hospital, Road, Stoke-on-Trent, UK.
Objectives:
To evaluate the degree of adherence to guidelines for facial radiography.
Methods:
A retrospective review of 1538 facial radiographs from a consecutive series of 414 patients attending the Accident & Emergency Department of the North Staffordshire Hospital with suspected facial injuries over a 6 month period was undertaken. Information on age, sex and aetiology of injury was recorded along with the type of view and total number of films taken. The results were compared with guidelines from the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery.
Results:
Almost one-half of all injuries were due to assault. There was general adherence to the guidelines in terms of the number of films taken for mid-face and mandibular fractures.
Conclusions:
There was a good adherence to the guidelines in terms of the number of films taken for midface and mandibular fractures. However, a small number of patients were still being exposed to a high radiation dose where combinations of skull and facial views were taken. Guidelines need to be subjected to regular audit.