Imaging Utilization for the Diagnosis of Appendicitis in Stand-Alone Children's Hospitals in the United States: Trends and Costs.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the imaging utilization patterns for the diagnosis of appendicitis among children's hospitals in the United States over the last 10 years (2005-2014).

METHODS: All patients with a primary discharge diagnosis of appendicitis included in a large administrative database of 45 pediatric institutions in the United States between 2005 and 2014 were selected. Demographics, imaging utilization, and costs were described.

RESULTS: In all, 96,786 children with appendicitis (59% boys, 41% girls; mean age: 9.9 years) were studied. The average length of stay decreased from 5.0 days in 2005 to 3.4 days in 2014 (P < .01). The percentage of patients undergoing CT increased between 2005 and 2007 from 59.1% to 62.6%, respectively, followed by a decrease from 62.6% to 32.7% in 2014 (r2  = 0.93). Radiograph utilization decreased from 14.2% in 2005 to 3.6% in 2014 (r2  = 0.93), and ultrasound and MRI increased from 25% and 0.03% in 2005 to 61% and 1.0% in 2014 (r2  = 0.97 and 0.64), respectively. The mean total hospital costs increased from $11,700 in 2005 to $16,500 in 2014; imaging costs increased only slightly from $3,205 to $3,259. The imaging fraction of hospital costs decreased from 27.5% to 19.8%.

CONCLUSION: There has been a significant decrease in utilization of CT and radiographs for the management of appendicitis in children, and ultrasound has continued to increase. Imaging costs have remained stable in comparison to rising hospital costs, generating a drop in the fraction of costs related to imaging.