The number of emergency department encounters that included a head CT more than doubled between 2007 and 2022, according to a study published Nov. 19 in Neurology.
Researchers from the medical schools of New Haven, Conn.-based Yale University, New York City-based Columbia University and Columbus-based Ohio State University reviewed data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey for the analysis.
Here are five things to know from the study:
- The weighted number of ED encounters with a head CT scan increased from 7,841,855 in 2007 to 15,977,551 in 2022.
- Head CT scans increased from 6.7% of all ED encounters in 2017 to 10.3% in 2022.
- Patients 65 and older were 6.24 times more likely to receive a head CT scan compared to patients younger than 18.
- Black patients, patients on Medicaid or patients receiving care at a rural hospital were less likely to receive a head CT scan.
- Head CT scans are “costly in aggregate, expose patients to ionizing radiation, and can contribute to increased ED delays and length of stay,” the study authors wrote. “Given increasing rates of head CT scans in the ED, additional evaluation of their yield in comparison with the relative risks and costs is needed.”
Read the full study here.
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