Radiology Resource Utilization During an H1N1 Influenza Outbreak

The majority of patients with H1N1 infection (70%) received no imaging studies. Patients sufficiently ill to require some level of imaging had, on average, just over one chest radiographic study. The 6% of patients who required ICU stays received an average of 33.5 chest radiographic studies and one thoracic CT examination. This information should be useful for health care organizations in planning their radiology resource needs during an H1N1 flu pandemic.