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The increased use of computed tomography scanning for diagnosing superficial soft tissue infections: a disturbing trend of increased radiation with no benefit

Authors :
Carolyn Morrow
Lorelei Vandiver
Jason Hunt
Jaden D. Evans
Sharmila Dissanaike
Source :
The American Journal of Surgery. 204:988-995
Publication Year :
2012
Publisher :
Elsevier BV, 2012.

Abstract

Soft tissue infections have historically been diagnosed on the basis of clinical signs and symptoms. A trend toward the increased use of computed tomographic (CT) imaging in their evaluation has been noted.A retrospective review was performed of soft tissue infection admissions in 2003 and 2004 and in 2009 and 2010. Intracavitary abscesses (eg, intra-abdominal, pelvic) that would not be evident on physical examination were excluded. Demographic and outcome variables, number of CT scans by body region, and total effective radiation dose were recorded. Radiation exposure was stratified into low, moderate, high, and very high categories.There was a significant increase in the number of patients receiving ≥1 CT scan for initial diagnosis, from 36.7% in the early cohort to 50% in the later cohort (P.001). The mean cumulative effective dose increased from 5.46 to 7.82 mSv (P = .007). Greater proportions of patients fell into the moderate (32.9% vs 24.5%) and high (6.8% vs 10.6%) radiation exposure categories.CT scans are increasingly used in the evaluation of soft tissue infections, with resultant increase in radiation exposure.

Details

ISSN :
00029610
Volume :
204
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
The American Journal of Surgery
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....4c15912870f4dfdab150a11daa39d843
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2012.05.029