NEXUS Chest (blunt chest-trauma imaging)
NEXUS Chest CT rule for blunt trauma (Rodriguez 2015, Chest CT-All): imaging indicated if any of abnormal chest x-ray, rapid deceleration, distracting injury, or chest-wall, sternal, thoracic-spine or scapular tenderness.
Open the calculator → Runs in your browser. Data leaves only if you deliberately send a problem report from the interactive tool.
Example
- Abnormal chest x-ray
- Yes
Result: Any criterion present: chest imaging indicated.
The tool opens with these values already filled in. Replace them with your own.
What the result means
- 0 criteria
- No criteria met: thoracic imaging can be safely deferred per source.
- >=1 criterion
- One or more criteria met: chest imaging is indicated per source.
What you enter
- Abnormal chest x-ray
- Distracting painful injury
- Chest-wall / sternal / thoracic-spine / scapular tenderness
- Rapid deceleration mechanism
How this is calculated
Citation
Rodriguez RM, et al. PLoS Med. 2015;12(10):e1001883 (NEXUS Chest CT decision instrument, Chest CT-All). Imaging may be deferred only if all 7 criteria absent. Read the source ↗
A reference and educational tool. Not medical, legal, or financial advice, and not a substitute for clinician judgment.