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. 2023 Jan 27;23(1):50.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-023-03771-y.

Trends in utilisation of ultrasound by older Australians (2010-2019)

Virginie Gaget  1 , Maria C Inacio  2   3 , David R Tivey  4   5 , Robert N Jorissen  2 , Wendy J Babidge  4   5 , Renuka Visvanathan  6   7 , Guy J Maddern  4   5
Affiliations

Trends in utilisation of ultrasound by older Australians (2010-2019)

Virginie Gaget et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: Older people have increasingly complex healthcare needs, often requiring appropriate access to diagnostic imaging, an essential component of their health and disease management planning. Ultrasound is a safe imaging tool used to diagnose several conditions commonly experienced by older people such as deep vein thrombosis.

Purpose: To evaluate the utilisation of major ultrasound services by Australians ≥ 65 years old between 2009- and 2019.

Methods: This population-based and yearly cross-sectional study of ultrasound utilisation per 1,000 Australians ≥ 65 years old was conducted using publicly available data sources. Overall, examination site and age- and sex-specific incidence rate (IR) of ultrasound per 1,000 people, adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using negative binomial regression models.

Results: Over the study period, the crude utilisation of ultrasound increased by 83% in older Australians. Most ultrasound examinations were conducted on extremities (39%) and the chest (21%), with 25% of all ultrasounds investigating the vascular system. More men than women use ultrasounds of the chest (184/1,000 vs 268/1,000 people), particularly echocardiograms (177/1,000 vs 261/1,000 people), and abdomen (88/1,000 vs 92/1,000 people), especially in those ≥ 85 years old. Hip and pelvic ultrasound were used more by women than men (212/1,000 vs 182/1,000 people). There were increases in vascular abdominal (IRR:1.07, 95%CI:1.06-1.08) and extremeties (IRR:1.06, 95%CI:1.05-1.07) ultrasounds over the study period, particularly in ≥ 75 years old men.

Conclusions: Ultrasound is a common and increasingly used diagnostic tool for conditions commonly experienced by older Australians.

Keywords: Diagnostic imaging; Echography; Epidemiology; Geriatrics; Ultrasound.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Trends in population growth and crude utilisation of ultrasound of the hip and pelvis, the abdomen, the chest and extremities between 2009–10 and 2018–19
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Trends in adjusted utilisation of ultrasound by older Australians for the chest (a), the abdomen (b), extremities (c), and the hip and pelvis (d)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Trends in cardiac ultrasound utilisation by older Australians between 2009–10 and 2018–19
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Trends in adjusted utilisation of ultrasound by older Australians between 2009–10 and 2018–19 for vessels in the abdomen (a) and the extremities (b)
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