Computed Tomography for Abdominal Pain: Do Radiology Reports Answer the Clinical Question?

Chief complaints and computed tomography results in the emergency department: a three-year retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Computed tomography (CT) is frequently performed in the patients who admitted to the emergency department (ED), discharged but returned to ED within 72 h. It is unknown whether the main complaints of patients assist physicians to use CT effectively. This study aimed to find the association between chief complaints and the CT results.

METHODS

This three-year retrospective cohort study was conducted in the ED of a tertiary medical center. Adult patients who returned to the ED after the index visit were included from 2019 to 2021. Demographics, pre-existing diseases, chief complaints, and CT region were recorded by independent ED physicians. A logistic regression model with an odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to determine the relationship between chief complaints and positive CT results.

RESULTS

In total, 7,699 patients revisited ED after the index visit; 1,202 (15.6%) received CT. The top chief complaints in patients who received CT were abdominal pain, dizziness, and muscle weakness. Patients with abdominal pain or gastrointestinal symptoms had a significantly higher rate of positive abdominopelvic CT than those without it (OR 2.83, 95% CI 1.98-4.05, p < 0.001), while the central nervous system and cardiopulmonary chief complaints were not associated (or negatively associated) with new positive CT findings.

CONCLUSION

Chief complaints of patients on revisit to the ED are associated with different yields of new findings when CT scans of the chest, abdomen and head are performed. Physicians should consider these differential likelihoods of new positive findings based on these data.