Computed tomography in the emergency department

A study was conducted to determine parameters indicating the current use of computed tomography (CT) in the emergency department (ED). Computerized data regarding patients seen in the ED between 1/1/92 and 9/30/95 were retrieved. A rate of 36/1,000 patients underwent CT in the ED (ED CT). Of patient...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of emergency medicine 1997-05, Vol.15 (3), p.244-247
Main Authors: Sosna, Jacob, Slasky, B.Simon, Bar-Ziv, Jacob
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abdominal Injuries - diagnostic imaging
Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child, Preschool
computed tomography
Craniocerebral Trauma - diagnostic imaging
Emergency department
Emergency Service, Hospital
health care
Health Care Costs
Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data
Hospitals, University
Humans
Infant
Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects)
Israel
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous. Technology
Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry
resources
Retrospective Studies
Spinal Injuries - diagnostic imaging
statistics
Thoracic Injuries - diagnostic imaging
Tomography, X-Ray Computed - economics
Tomography, X-Ray Computed - statistics & numerical data
utility
Utilization Review
Wounds and Injuries - diagnostic imaging
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A study was conducted to determine parameters indicating the current use of computed tomography (CT) in the emergency department (ED). Computerized data regarding patients seen in the ED between 1/1/92 and 9/30/95 were retrieved. A rate of 36/1,000 patients underwent CT in the ED (ED CT). Of patients eventually hospitalized, 6.04% had ED CT, whereas 2.81% of the discharged patients had undergone ED CT ( P < .001). The most common region examined by ED CT was the head (55.38%), followed by the abdomen (14.19%), pelvis (11.96%), spine (11.46%), and chest (5.57%). The hospitalization rates for patients undergoing head and spine ED CT were 35.99% and 36.84%, respectively. The hospitalization rates for patients undergoing abdomen, pelvis, and chest ED CT were 50.76%, 51.46%, and 55.61%, respectively. The mean number of patients undergoing ED CT increased according to age with a positive linear correlation. Head CT was most common in the very young and the very old. Some parameters about the use of ED CT were identified. The information obtained will allow comparison of practice between EDs in different medical centers and will be useful to hospital administrators, health planners, and clinicians. This retrospective analysis is to be followed by more comprehensive prospective studies involving different EDs in various sections of the country.
ISSN:0735-6757
1532-8171
DOI:10.1016/S0735-6757(97)90005-X