Lessons learned during the sliding gantry CT implementation in a trauma suite

Purpose: Early detection of bleeding is important for managing trauma cases in the emergency department (ED). Several trauma suites are equipped with computed tomography (CT) scanners to reduce the time to CT. In the last decade, sliding gantry CT has been implemented in trauma suites, highlighting conventional techniques' advantages. We investigated the change in the time to CT and the challenges faced during the implementation.

Methods: Trauma suite treatments with a conventional CT scanner between January and December 2016 formed the control group. From January to April 2017, trauma suites were modified, and treatment was outsourced to an interim trauma suite. By May 2017, trauma suites were equipped with a sliding gantry CT scanner. Treatments from May to July 2017 formed the transition group, and those from August to December 2017 formed the routine use group. We evaluated the time to CT in all groups and considered the reasons for the delays in the transition and routine use groups.

Results: On sliding gantry CT implementation, although time to CT remained unaffected in the transition group, it significantly reduced in the routine use group, independent of injury severity score. The incidence of cable management problems was significantly higher in the latter group.

Conclusions: We have demonstrated a decrease in the time to CT with the implementation of a sliding gantry CT. However, due to a higher number of cable management problems in the routine use group, we recommend regular refresher team training with routine use.