Editor,—Harris et al¹ apply Rothrock's criteria² to a UK population of non-trauma patients. Their abstract concludes “Simple criteria can be usefully applied to patients presenting to an A&E department in this country to target patients most likely to have clinically significant findings on urgent cranial computed tomography”. We believe that the method and findings of the study do not justify the change in practice implied by this conclusion.

Our methodological concerns are threefold. Information gathered retrospectively from notes and request forms casts doubt over …