Researchers retrospectively studied data of patients admitted to a hospital with a pneumonia diagnosis.
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They found the average age of patients receiving a CT scan was 58.1 years old, compared to those not receiving a CT scan, at 66.8 years old.
Additionally, patients receiving CT scans had fewer comorbidities (Charlson Comorbidity Index of 1.77 vs 2.02), had fewer fevers on admission (34.8 percent vs. 36.5 percent), had fewer positive blood cultures (4.1 percent vs. 8.9 percent) and were more often discharged alive (91.3 percent vs. 88.9 percent).
However, patients who received a CT scan experienced longer lengths of stay (8.6 days vs. 6.9 days), were more quickly diagnosed with sepsis (81.2 percent vs. 78.6 percent) and were more often admitted to the intensive care unit within 48 hours (21.7 percent vs. 15.1 percent).
Researchers suggest guidelines and objective rules should be determined for using advanced imaging techniques in pneumonia patients.
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