Overview
- The Neurology analysis estimates head CTs rose from 7.84 million in 2007 to 15.98 million in 2022, accounting for 10.3% of emergency visits.
- After adjustment, Black patients were 10% less likely than white patients to receive scans, Medicaid recipients 18% less likely than Medicare or privately insured patients, and rural hospitals 24% below urban facilities.
- Use skewed heavily by age, with people 65 and older six times more likely to undergo head CT than children under 18.
- Authors emphasize balancing rapid diagnosis with costs, workflow delays and radiation exposure, while noting the national database lacks clinical detail needed to judge appropriateness case by case.
- An accompanying editorial flags potential population-level cancer burdens tied to overall CT volume and points to overordering patterns that can begin during clinical training.