What is the national average turnaround read time for Computed Tomography (CT) scans in the Emergency Department (ED)?

From the Guidelines

The national average turnaround read time for CT scans in the Emergency Department should be within 45 minutes of ED arrival, as recommended by the American Heart Association guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care 1. This timeframe is crucial for timely patient management decisions, especially in cases of stroke, trauma, or other time-sensitive conditions where treatment delays can significantly impact patient outcomes.

• The ideal completion time for a CT scan is within 25 minutes of the patient's arrival in the ED, and interpretation should be done within 45 minutes of ED arrival, as stated in the guidelines 1.
• Factors such as hospital size, staffing levels, time of day, patient volume, and whether the facility has 24/7 in-house radiologist coverage or uses teleradiology services can affect the turnaround read time.
• Many institutions aim for critical findings to be communicated within 30 minutes, while non-urgent studies might have longer reporting times.
• The rapid interpretation of ED imaging is essential for timely patient management decisions, and delays can significantly impact patient outcomes, particularly in time-sensitive conditions like stroke, where prompt initiation of IV rtPA in eligible patients is critical 1.

From the Research

National Average Turnaround Read Times on CT's in the ED

• The national average turnaround read time for Computed Tomography (CT) scans in the Emergency Department (ED) varies depending on the study and the specific context.
• A study from 2018 2 found that the average time from a CT order to the availability of the radiologist's final report was 5.9 hours (median=4.2 hours) over an eight-month period.
• Another study from 2014 3 found that the mean turnaround time (TAT) for radiologists varied from 35 to 53 minutes for emergency department abdominopelvic CT studies.
• A study from 2004 4 found significant time interval differences between oral-contrast-enhanced (CECT) and unenhanced (NECT) abdominopelvic CT scans, with median times ranging from 104 minutes to 172 minutes for receipt of the CT order and the time of the scan.
• A study from 2006 5 found that the presence of concurrent trauma evaluation does not delay CT imaging of patients with potential stroke, with times to head CT ranging from 99 minutes to 101 minutes.
• A study from 2023 6 found that resident pre-dictation of ED cases can cause delay in the finalization of individual CT reports, but overall, working with residents results in a significant decrease in report turnaround time.

Factors Affecting Turnaround Read Times

• The presence of concurrent trauma evaluation does not appear to affect turnaround read times for CT scans in the ED 5.
• Resident pre-dictation of ED cases can cause delay in the finalization of individual CT reports, but overall, working with residents can decrease report turnaround time 6.
• The use of oral contrast versus no contrast can affect turnaround read times for abdominopelvic CT scans, with significant time interval differences between the two 4.
• Radiologist turnaround time and report quality are not necessarily associated, with some studies finding weak positive correlations between the two 3.