Whole body CT for trauma reduces emergency department time for patients with lower extremity fractures

[2brads]

Whole body CT for trauma reduces emergency department time for patients with lower extremity fractures - Emergency Radiology

Background Whole body CT in the setting of trauma has been shown to improve patient outcomes and decrease mortality in the emergency department (ED). Our institutional WBCT protocol allows for easy inclusion of the lower extremities, circumventing the need for diagnostic radiographs of the lower...

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Anyone else think this is insane?

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[Womb Raider]

“…total cost of ED imaging was increased by approximately 4 × (p < 0.0001).”

LOL.

Our ED already orders CT A/P, chest, and head for nearly every trauma, +/- c-Spine/max face. Rarely extremities unless something found on radiograph first. It’s concerning that cost to patient is so often ignored.

I don’t know about you guys but it feels like emergency medicine has become very algorithm based, letting labs/imaging do the diagnosing rather than clinical acumen. No surprise midlevels are taking over. Win for hospitals and midlevels, lose for physicians/patients.

 

[Cognovi]

From the hospital administrator and ED clinician perspective, ED throughput wins hands down over radiation dose and cost considerations. Because the cost is to the patient and society, and the time / sanity of the radiologist, not to the hospital or the referrer.

 

[2brads]

“…total cost of ED imaging was increased by approximately 4 × (p < 0.0001).”

LOL.

Our ED already orders CT A/P, chest, and head for nearly every trauma, +/- c-Spine/max face. Rarely extremities unless something found on radiograph first. It’s concerning that cost to patient is so often ignored.

I don’t know about you guys but it feels like emergency medicine has become very algorithm based, letting labs/imaging do the diagnosing rather than clinical acumen. No surprise midlevels are taking over. Win for hospitals and midlevels, lose for physicians/patients.

There’s an algorithm? Best I can tell is it goes: find problematic body part -> cross sectional imaging of affected body part as well as any adjacent anatomy -> wait for diagnosis. If cannot determine affected area, pan scan entire body.