Dear CT Insider,
The latest in a string of studies confirms the trend is real: People are getting fewer CT scans.
Whether it's the result of dose-reduction campaigns such as Image Gently, the Deficit Reduction Act, radiation fears, a bad economy, or maybe all of the above, the tapering of CT demand since 2009 is unmistakable, say researchers in a new study.
Thankfully, some of the sharpest drops in CT utilization have been among children, according to our article by AuntMinnie.com staff writer Kate Madden Yee.
Analyzed by body part and patient demographic, the data show other surprising trends as well. Look for the details in this issue's Insider Exclusive, brought to you as a subscriber before our other members can access it.
The report isn't the first, of course, to document declining CT use. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, a report from market research firm IMV Medical Information Division (which owns AuntMinnie.com) found essentially the same thing: CT utilization dropping measurably since 2011. The report had a silver lining for CT manufacturers, however. Find it by clicking here.
Still, the drop in utilization has been fairly recent; measured over the past decade, CT use is still up. And the radiation from all these scans is killing us -- or rather, we are killing ourselves, according to an op-ed piece last week in the New York Times that has sparked both admiration and outrage.
The authors from the University of California, San Francisco charge that CT use has been on the upswing for the past 20 years, despite a lack of evidence that increased utilization is leading to better outcomes. They cite several potential causes, from facilities wanting to recoup their investment in CT scanners to inappropriate use of scans and a continuing lack of clear guidelines on optimal doses.
But commenters from the broader radiology community say the authors ignored a few obvious factors, from the effects of defensive medicine on utilization to the dubious motivations of some nonradiologists looking for any reason to slam CT. Get the rest of the story here.
Last but not least, an article by AuntMinnie.com staff writer Wayne Forrest highlights new software that fuses functional SPECT data with anatomical data from coronary CT angiography to offer a fairly seamless look at the functional significance of coronary artery stenosis. Find the details here.
We invite you to scroll through the links below for the rest of the news about radiology's biggest and baddest modality -- brought to you fresh daily in your CT Digital Community.
