Method: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample for the year 2010 was used for the current study. All hospitalized patients undergoing CAT scan of head in the hospital were selected for analysis. Demographic and hospital related characteristics were examined. Each individual hospitalization was the unit of analysis. The discharge weight variable was used to provide nationally representative estimates.
Result: During the year 2010, a total of 39,008,298 hospitalizations occurred in the entire United States. Of these, 272,240 hospitalizations had a CAT scan of head in hospitals across the entire United States. The mean age of those who had a CT scan of head was 61 years. The frequently reported primary reasons for hospitalization among those who had a CT scan of head were acute cerebrovascular disease (10.7% of hospitalizations), intracranial injuries (5.6%), syncope (4.2%), epilepsy – convulsions (3.8%), and transient cerebral ischemia (3.8%). Close to 69% of all CAT scans were performed in teaching hospitals. Close to 53.6% of all CAT scans were performed in hospital located in northeastern regions, 8.1% in midwestern regions, 19.5% in southern regions, and 18.8% in western regions. With regards to insurance coverage, 49.3% of hospitalizations that had a CT scan of the head were covered by Medicare, 16.7% by Medicaid, 19.7% by private insurance plans, and 4% by other insurance plans. About 10.3% were uninsured.
Conclusion: CAT scans of head appear to be performed in higher proportions in the northeastern regions of the country compared to Midwest regions. Small area variations in medical practice patterns appear to be driving this trend. This phenomenon awaits further empirical support.