ArticleCureus2024
The Overuse of Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy (HIDA) Scans: Are We Unnecessarily Using Nuclear Medicine Resources Instead of Proven Clinical Guidelines for Diagnosing Acute Cholecystitis?
Article in Cureus, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Acute Emergent Biliary Pathologies Identified Using Point-of-Care Ultrasound.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Association Between Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy and Delays in Operative Management in Acute Cholecystitis.Cureus · 2026Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background Gallstone disease significantly burdens the United States healthcare system. While ultrasonography (US), physical exam, and laboratory findings are the recommended primary workup and diagnostic modalities, hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HIDA) scans are occasionally used as an adjunct for diagnosis. This study evaluates HIDA scan utilization in comparison to clinical and US findings based on the Tokyo guidelines for diagnosing acute cholecystitis. Methods This retrospective study included 159 patients admitted with gallbladder disease from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2020. Patients were classified by the Tokyo guidelines as having no cholecystitis, suspected, or definite cholecystitis. The primary outcome was HIDA scan overutilization, defined as HIDA scans performed despite clinical criteria for cholecystitis. Secondary outcomes included HIDA scan use in complicated gallbladder disease and the effect of admission day on HIDA scan ordering. Results Of the 159 patients who underwent cholecystectomy, 101 (63.5%) met the Tokyo guidelines for suspected or definite cholecystitis. Over half, 54 (53.5%) of these patients received HIDA scans, indicating overutilization. Additionally, no significant difference in HIDA scan utilization was observed based on the day of admission. Among patients with complicated gallbladder disease, 29 (38.2%) underwent a HIDA scan, which was deemed unnecessary. Conclusion HIDA scans are significantly overutilized in patients meeting clinical criteria for cholecystitis based on the Tokyo guidelines and those with complicated gallbladder disease. Overuse increases healthcare costs and delays care. HIDA scans should be reserved for cases with inconclusive US results but high clinical suspicion for cholecystitis. Proper utilization and reduction of unnecessary HIDA scans could improve patient care efficiency and reduce healthcare expenditures.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.