Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40392398›Full record

ArticleHealth economics review2025

Cost effectiveness of imaging strategies in the emergency department for the diagnostic workup of community-acquired pneumonia: a real-life retrospective study.

Sabrina Kepka, Kevin Zarca, Mickaël Ohana, Louise Hoffbeck, Charlène Heimann, Pierrick Le Borgne, François Severac, Joris Muller, Erik-André Sauleau, Pascal Bilbault and 1 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Health economics review, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05140408 (Efficiency of the Imaging Strategy for the Management of Pneumonia in the Emergency Department), which is not on this map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT05140408 unknown statusnot on this map

Efficiency of the Imaging Strategy for the Management of Pneumonia in the Emergency Department

TypeobservationalSponsorUniversity Hospital, Strasbourg, FranceRan2021 to 2022Enrolled2,240ConditionsPneumonia
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Sabrina KepkaEmergency Department, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 1 place de l'hôpital, CHRU of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67091, France. sabrinakepka@yahoo.fr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7406-5005
Kevin ZarcaURCEco, Hôtel Dieu, AP-HP, 1 Place du Parvis Notre Dame, Paris, 75004, France.
Mickaël OhanaICUBE UMR 7357 CNRS, équipe IMAGeS, 300 Bd Sébastien Brant, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, 67400, France.
Louise HoffbeckEmergency Department, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 1 place de l'hôpital, CHRU of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67091, France.
Charlène HeimannEmergency Department, Hôpital Emile Muller, 20 rue du Dr Laennec, Mulhouse, 68100, France.
Pierrick Le BorgneEmergency Department, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 1 place de l'hôpital, CHRU of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67091, France.
François SeveracICUBE UMR 7357 CNRS, équipe IMAGeS, 300 Bd Sébastien Brant, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, 67400, France.
Joris MullerPublic Health Unit, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, CHRU of Strasbourg, 1 place de l'hôpital, Strasbourg, 67091, France.
Erik-André SauleauICUBE UMR 7357 CNRS, équipe IMAGeS, 300 Bd Sébastien Brant, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, 67400, France.
Pascal BilbaultEmergency Department, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, 1 place de l'hôpital, CHRU of Strasbourg, Strasbourg, 67091, France.
Isabelle Durand ZaleskiURCEco, Hôtel Dieu, AP-HP, 1 Place du Parvis Notre Dame, Paris, 75004, France.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe purpose of this study was to compare the length of stay (LOS) and costs of diagnostic workup by Ultra Low Dose (ULD) chest computed tomography and radiography for patients treated for a community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in the emergency department (ED).

methodsWe conducted a real-life retrospective study of patients treated for a CAP in two ED between March 1, 2019 and February 29, 2020. We estimated length of stay (LOS) as the difference between ED discharge and entry times, total hospital costs at 60 days including ED, initial admissions and readmissions. Patients with initial radiography were compared with patients with initial ULD CT using inverse probability weighing of the propensity score calculated from demographic variables, vital parameters and clinical presentation. We calculated the incremental cost effectiveness ratio as the difference between costs and the difference between LOS. Variability of the results was assessed using non-parametric bootstrapping.

resultsWe included 1609 consecutive patients, 1476 patients with radiography and 133 patients with ULD CT. The average costs were respectively €4317 [3483; 5067] and €4223 [4034; 4612] with 11.9 [10.1; 13.2] and 11.7 [11.5; 12.2] hours of LOS in the ED for chest radiography and ULD chest CT respectively, resulting in lower costs of € -94 [-870; 819] and a decreased LOS of 12 [-108; 76.9] minutes in favor of ULD chest CT.

conclusionsIn this real-life study, the management of CAP in ED by ULD chest CT compared with chest radiography resulted in lower costs without increasing LOS.

trial registrationThis study was registered with the Clinical Trials Registry (NCT05140408).

Indexed as

Chest radiographyCommunity acquired pneumoniaCost-effectiveness analysisEmergency departmentTomography

Identifiers

PMID40392398
PMCPMC12090570

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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.