Original Article By Daniel Firestone, MD RDMS It appears that the excitement and utilization of computed tomography (CT) imaging in the emergency department (ED) has far outpaced our concern for the short- and long-term consequences of increased reliance on this technology. CT has greatly supplemented, or even replaced, our clinical decision making for many chief complaints. Many articles document the dramatic increased CT use in contemporary practice, including a 330% increase in the rate of CT imaging from 1996 to 2007. The likelihood of a CT order being part of any ED encounter now approaches 15%, with no signs of decline (1).
Rising trend for CT imaging for renal colic This trend especially holds true in the evaluation of flank pain (2). Kocher cited CT utilization rates for cases of suspected renal colic between the years 1996 to 2007 have increased from 4.0% to 42% (1). This…
