CT More Efficient for Diagnosing Spine Trauma

Plain film exams showed a low incidence of true-positive findings (0.50%) compared to CT (5.85%), and there was a higher incidence of false-positive findings for plain film imaging. Also, the direct cost of CT spinal imaging was 16% lower than for plain film imaging. Although the costs for equipment and maintenance are higher for CT, overall direct costs are lower because CT takes less time than plain film imaging.

"This is the first study to show that CT can completely replace plain films and result in a cost savings,” said Mykol Larvie, Ph.D., a senior medical student at Harvard Medical School (Boston, MA, USA) and one of the study's authors. The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) in San Diego (CA, USA).




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