NEXUS Chest CT (blunt trauma)
NEXUS Chest CT decision instrument (Rodriguez 2015): whether chest CT is indicated after blunt trauma from seven criteria; any positive suggests imaging.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Age > 60 years
- Yes
Result: 1 positive criterion (Age > 60 years): chest CT may be indicated.
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What you enter
- Abnormal chest X-ray
- Distracting painful injury
- Chest-wall tenderness
- Rapid deceleration mechanism
- Age > 60 years
- Intoxication
- Abnormal alertness / mental status
How this is calculated
- Criteria
- 7 items: abnormal chest x-ray, distracting injury, chest-wall/sternum/thoracic-spine/scapular tenderness, rapid deceleration, age > 60, intoxication, abnormal alertness.
- Rule
- all negative -> chest CT can be deferred (>= 99% sensitive for major injury); any positive -> CT may be indicated.
Rodriguez RM, Langdorf MI, Nishijima D, et al. Derivation and validation of two decision instruments for selective chest CT in blunt trauma: a multicenter prospective observational study (NEXUS Chest CT). PLoS Med. 2015;12(10):e1001883. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.