Canadian Assessment of Tomography for Childhood Head injury Rule

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Paediatric Head Injury

CATCH Rule Calculator

Canadian Assessment of Tomography for Childhood Head Injury

Select whether each finding is present. A positive high-risk or medium-risk finding makes the CATCH rule positive for an eligible child with minor head injury.

High-risk features

GCS <15 at 2 hours after injury
Suspected open or depressed skull fracture
History of worsening headache
Irritability on examination

Medium-risk features

Any sign of basal skull fracture

Hemotympanum, raccoon eyes, CSF otorrhea or rhinorrhea, or Battle’s sign.

Large boggy scalp hematoma
Dangerous mechanism of injury

Motor vehicle crash, fall from ≥3 ft (91 cm) or ≥5 stairs, or fall from a bicycle without a helmet.

Result

Complete the assessment

Select an answer for every clinical finding, then assess the rule.

This calculator is a clinical decision-support tool and does not replace clinical judgement, local imaging protocols, observation, or emergency assessment.

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