Document Detail


Use of advanced radiology during visits to US emergency departments for injury-related conditions, 1998-2007.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20924012     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
CONTEXT: Excessive use of medical imaging increases health care costs and exposure to ionizing radiation (a potential carcinogen) without yielding significant benefits to all patients.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there has been a change in the prevalence of emergency department visits for injury-related conditions for which computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was obtained and whether there has been a change in the diagnosis of life-threatening conditions and patient disposition.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective cross-sectional analysis of emergency department visits using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (1998-2007). Sampled visits were weighted to produce estimates for the United States.
MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Proportion of visits for injury-related conditions during which a CT or MRI was obtained, a life-threatening condition was diagnosed (eg, cervical spine fracture, skull fracture, intracranial bleeding, liver and spleen laceration), and which resulted in hospital and intensive care unit admission.
RESULTS: The prevalence of CT or MRI use during emergency department visits for injury-related conditions increased from 6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5%-7%) (257 of 5237 visits) in 1998 to 15% (95% CI, 14%-17%) (981 of 6567 visits) in 2007 (P < .001 for trend). There was a small increase in the prevalence of life-threatening conditions (1.7% [95% CI, 1.2%-2.2%; 89 of 5237 visits] in 1998 and 2.0% [95% CI, 1.6%-2.5%; 142 of 6567 visits] in 2007; P=.04 for trend) [corrected].There was no change in prevalence of visits during which patients were either admitted to the hospital (5.9% [95% CI, 4.9%-6.9%] in 1998 and 5.5% [95% CI, 4.7%-6.5%] in 2007; P = .50 for trend) or to an intensive care unit (0.62% [95% CI, 0.40%-1.00%] in 1998 and 0.80% [95% CI, 0.53%-1.21%] in 2007; P = .14 for trend). Visits during which CT or MRI was obtained lasted 126 minutes (95% CI, 123-131 minutes) longer than those for which CT or MRI was not obtained.
CONCLUSION: From 1998 to 2007, the prevalence of CT or MRI use during emergency department visits for injury-related conditions increased significantly, without an equal increase in the prevalence of life-threatening conditions.
Authors:
Frederick Kofi Korley; Julius Cuong Pham; Thomas Dean Kirsch
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't    
Journal Detail:
Title:  JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association     Volume:  304     ISSN:  1538-3598     ISO Abbreviation:  JAMA     Publication Date:  2010 Oct 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-10-06     Completed Date:  2010-10-08     Revised Date:  2011-01-12    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  7501160     Medline TA:  JAMA     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1465-71     Citation Subset:  AIM; IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. fkorley1@jhmi.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Child
Child, Preschool
Critical Illness / epidemiology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Decision Support Systems, Clinical
Emergency Service, Hospital / statistics & numerical data*
Female
Health Care Costs
Humans
Infant
Intensive Care Units / utilization
Magnetic Resonance Imaging / economics,  utilization*
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Admission / statistics & numerical data
Prevalence
Retrospective Studies
Tomography, X-Ray Computed / economics,  utilization*
United States / epidemiology
Wounds and Injuries / epidemiology*,  pathology,  radiography*
Young Adult
Grant Support
ID/Acronym/Agency:
5KL2RR025006/RR/NCRR NIH HHS
Comments/Corrections
Comment In:
JAMA. 2011 Jan 12;305(2):148-9; author reply 149   [PMID:  21224454 ]
Erratum In:
JAMA. 2010 Nov 3;304(17):1901

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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