Trends in utilization of FDG PET/CT in an inpatient population

Objectives The goal of this retrospective study was to evaluate trends in the utilization of FDG PET/CT in a large inpatient population at a single academic medical center over a ten-year period.

Methods The Johns Hopkins PET/CT report database was queried for all inpatient FDG PET/CT scans performed from January 2003 to December 2012 in this IRB-approved study. A total of 2083 patients were identified who underwent FDG PET/CT while hospitalized and whose cases were evaluable (50.4% male and median age of 59.3 years). Descriptive statistics were calculated using Microsoft Excel and further analyses were performed with Prism4.0 (Graphpad Software).

Results The usage of FDG PET/CT in this inpatient population increased from 89 scans/year in 2003 to 502 scans/year in 2012. Between 2008 and 2012 (the only period for which total volume data was available), inpatient PET/CT increased from 15.1% to 17.5% of total PET/CT utilization. These cases were 73.2% oncologic, 20.2% cardiac, and 6.6% brain/other. This inpatient group had a mean length of stay of 8 days, which is somewhat longer than the national 2012 mean of 4.5 days for all hospitalizations. The mean time through an inpatient stay when PET/CT was obtained was 60% of the total hospital stay. The number of days into the course of an inpatient stay when the FDG PET/CT was obtained was significantly correlated with the total days of hospitalization (r = 0.74, P < 0.001).

Conclusions FDG PET/CT scans performed earlier in inpatient stays are associated with shorter hospitalizations. These utilization data support the value of FDG PET/CT in inpatients.