Increased use of CT to image pneumonia is unlikely to be the sole cause of increased hospital costs for pneumonia patients, according to a study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Increased use of CT to image pneumonia is unlikely to be the sole cause of increased hospital costs for pneumonia patients, according to a study from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
In the study, presented at the 2008 RSNA meeting, Michael Lu, Ph.D., a research fellow at Brigham and Women's, and colleagues retrospectively examined 1064 patients with a primary diagnosis of pneumonia from 1999 to 2006. The researchers retrieved information from hospital accounting and administration data.
The average length of stay was 9.2 days, 28.9% of patients were admitted to the intensive care unit, and 18.7% required mechanical ventilation. The all-cause in-hospital mortality rate was 11.5%.
Although the average number of CT studies per patient increased from 1999 to 2006, the average number of imaging studies did not. The number of chest radiographs did not change significantly, with an average of 5.47 during the study period. The percentage of hospital costs remained fairly constant at an average of $20,505. Imaging costs went from $475 in 1999 to $726 in 2006.
Hospital and imaging costs have significantly increased, but the fraction represented by imaging has remained constant. This suggests that imaging is unlikely to be the reason for the cost increase, the researchers said.
It is unclear why the costs increased. The study was meant to show that increased use of CT was not the cause, said presenter Dr. Hansel Otero, a research associate in radiology at Brigham and Women's. A cost-effectiveness study is needed before the reason costs for the hospital jumped can be determined.
The researchers compiled figures from the hospital administration database, and detailed information was left out. This limited the conclusions the researchers could make, he said.
For more information from the Diagnostic Imaging and SearchMedica archives:
Medical imaging for managed care plan doubles in 10 yearsDRA pain lingers, but other changes show progress for radiology practiceNuclear imaging studies bounce back from 2006 declinePrior authorization takes commandDoctors debate soaring emergency CT utilizationy
Comparative AI Study Shows Merits of RapidAI LVO Software in Stroke Detection
February 6th 2025The Rapid LVO AI software detected 33 percent more cases of large vessel occlusion (LVO) on computed tomography angiography (CTA) than Viz LVO AI software, according to a new comparative study presented at the International Stroke Conference (ISC).
The Reading Room: Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Cancer Screenings, and COVID-19
November 3rd 2020In this podcast episode, Dr. Shalom Kalnicki, from Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, discusses the disparities minority patients face with cancer screenings and what can be done to increase access during the pandemic.
What Emerging CT Research Reveals About Obesity and Post-Op Survival for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
January 29th 2025For those without low skeletal muscle mass on CT and myosteatosis, obese patients have a 23 percent lower risk of death than non-obese patients after undergoing curative resection for non-small cell lung cancer, according to newly published research.