Table 2. Imaging test prescriptions per year.
|
Year of diagnosis (No of tests per 100 patients) |
|||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imaging test | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | Annual increase % (95% CI) |
|
Routine | |||||||||||
| Chest radiograph | 100.5 | 112.2 | 122.0 | 114.1 | 110.4 | 110.2 | 94.6 | 107.4 | 117.2 | 95.2 | −0.8 (−1.8 to 0.2) |
| Abdominal ultrasound | 117.1 | 120.3 | 140.5 | 134.6 | 127.2 | 135.8 | 125.1 | 142.9 | 152.9 | 135.7 | 1.9 (1.0 to 2.9) |
| Bone scan | 73.1 | 76.3 | 84.5 | 80.2 | 80.0 | 82.7 | 77.4 | 88.6 | 96.0 | 90.1 | 2.2 (1.0 to 3.4) |
| Mammograms | 87.9 | 90.2 | 89.1 | 91.4 | 86.8 | 90.4 | 88.6 | 88.2 | 87.7 | 77.5 | −0.6 (−1.8 to 0.5) |
| Total | 378.6 | 399.0 | 436.1 | 420.3 | 404.3 | 419.1 | 385.7 | 427.1 | 453.7 | 398.5 | 0.1 (−0.1 to 0.3) |
|
New | |||||||||||
| CT | 23.9 | 34.4 | 35.0 | 33.5 | 39.1 | 45.5 | 39.8 | 55.5 | 72.8 | 74.7 | 11.9 (10.0 to 13.8) |
| PET | 0.7 | 2.4 | 4.6 | 7.0 | 9.3 | 7.9 | 11.4 | 17.4 | 22.3 | 22.2 | 29.8 (25.0 to 34.7) |
| MRI | 5.9 | 4.1 | 7.2 | 6.1 | 9.5 | 6.9 | 9.5 | 12.6 | 7.4 | 14.1 | 9.0 (4.9 to 13.3) |
| Breast MRI | 0.5 | 1.0 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 5.7 | 4.8 | 7.2 | 10.8 | 13.0 | 13.2 | 32.9 (26.3 to 39.9) |
| Total | 32.3 | 43.5 | 49.8 | 50.4 | 65.0 | 68.2 | 69.6 | 101.4 | 120.0 | 128.9 | 15.7 (14.2 to 17.2) |
Abbreviations: CT=computerised tomography; MRI=magnetic resonance imaging; PET=positron emission tomography.