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Screening admission CT scans in patients with AIDS--a randomized trial
1Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harward Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Objective:
To determine if the length of hospital stay could be reduced for patients with AIDS by performing screening head and abdominal-pelvic computed tomography (CT) scans within 24 hours of admission, regardless of presenting signs and symptoms.
Design:
Randomized, prospective trial.
Setting:
Tertiary, academic medical center.
Patients:
On presentation to the emergency department, 42 patients with AIDS were identified as being eligible to participate in our study. Twenty-two patients consented to participate and were assigned to screening CT or control group.
Intervention:
Patients assigned to the screening CT group had head and abdominal-pelvic CT scans within 24 hours of admission, regardless of presenting signs or symptoms. The findings of the screening CT scans were immediately communicated to the patient's referring physician. Patients assigned to the control group had CT studies done solely at the discretion of their physician.
Main Outcome Measure:
Length of stay for patients in the screening CT and control groups.
Results:
The average length of stay for patients in the screening CT group was 1.3 days longer than the average length of stay for patients in the control group (95% CI, 1.4 days shorter to 4 days longer). The study was terminated after 22 patients were enrolled.
Conclusion:
Screening CT scans of the head and abdomen and pelvis at the time of hospital admission do not reduce the length of stay for patients with AIDS.