Study finds increase in use of chest, abdominopelvic CT for trauma-related ED encounters from 2011–18

Using national claims information extracted from the IBM MarketScan Commercial Database, Dr. Salastekar's team identified trauma-related ED encounters via 2011–2018 MarketScan files. ED encounters were organized using the Injury Severity Score (minor, intermediate, major) via International Classification of Diseases codes, them assessed for chest CT, abdominopelvic CT, and single-encounter thoracoabdominopelvic CT examinations.

Ultimately, in commercially insured patients, national utilization of single-encounter thoracoabdominopelvic CT per 1,000 trauma-related ED encounters increased from 3.4 in 2011 to 9.8 in 2018 (adjusted incidence rate ratios, 1.16 per year). Additionally, rates rose from 1.1 to 4.6 (1.18) for minor, 6.4 to 16.4 (1.16) for intermediate, and 99.6 to 179.9 (1.08) for major injuries.

Because their retrospective study used national claims data from commercially insured patients - excluding the majority of Medicare- or Medicaid-eligible individuals, while entirely excluding the uninsured - "the findings may not generalize to such populations," the authors of this AJR article cautioned.