Neuroimaging utilization in EDs increases by 72%

Overall emergency department (ED) neuroimaging use grew by 72% in the U.S. between 2007 and 2017, according to a study published August 4 in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Annual head CT and head and neck CT angiography (CTA) utilization grew the most during the time period, wrote a team led by Andrew ElHabr of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.

ElHabr and colleagues used data both from privately insured and Medicare Advantage patients to evaluate annual ED use of head CT, head MR, head CTA, neck CTA, head MR angiography (MRA), neck MRA, and carotid duplex ultrasound.

The investigators found that during the study time frame, age-adjusted ED neuroimaging utilization rates per 1,000 visits increased 72% overall, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5%. But head CT and CTA of the head and neck in patients 65 and older grew the most, by 48% and 1,011%, respectively, over the decade. Head CT utilization increased at a CAGR of 4%, while CTA of the head and neck had a CAGR of 24%.

"The appropriateness of this growth should be monitored as the indications for CTA expand and more incidental findings are uncovered," the researchers concluded.