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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)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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