Centre for Policy on Ageing



Prescription practices of diagnostic imaging in dementia — a survey of 47 Alzheimer's Centres in Northern Italy
Author(s)	R Riello, C Albini, S Galluzzi
Journal title	International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, vol 18, no 7, July 2003
Pages	pp 577-585
Keywords	Dementia ; Diagnosis ; Italy.
Annotation	If costs are to be contained, efficient use of technological procedures such as structural imaging examinations for diagnosis and treatment of dementia will become requisite. In this study, 62% of the Alzheimer's Centres in Northern Italy prescribed computed tomography (CT) to more than 95% of cases, 24% prescribed magnetic resonance (MR) in more than 33% of cases, and 33% prescribed single photon emission tomography (SPET) to more than 5% of cases. Only three centres prescribed imaging to fewer than 100% of new cases. The association between onsite scanner availability and frequency of prescription increased from CT through MR to SPET, although only the latter was significant. Organisational factors play a relevant role in the prescribing of imaging examinations in patients with cognitive impairment, and at least for CT, the perceived diagnostic added value is rather low, suggesting a high degree of uncertainty in the clinical use of imaging techniques. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-030804218 A
Classmark	EA: LK7: 76V
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.