Incidence and pathology of repeat CT abdomen and pelvis in an adult emergency department population

IntroductionOur objective was to identify the incidence of adult patients who undergo more than one computed tomography (CT) abdomen and pelvis within 1 year and detect the incidence of significant pathology on these repeat scans.MethodsAll adults with an initial CT within 12 months and then during an emergency department visit were retrospectively identified.ResultsA percentage of 21.1 of the repeat CT scans were positive. Approximately 20% of positive repeat CT scans occurred within the first month and nearly 70% within 6 months of the initial CT scan.ConclusionsMany patients undergo multiple CT scans within a 1 year time frame with significant pathology identified.