Racial and Ethnic Differences in Emergency Department Diagnostic Imaging at US Children's Hospitals, 2016-2019

Importance Diagnostic imaging is frequently performed as part of the emergency department (ED) evaluation of children. Whether imaging patterns differ by race and ethnicity is unknown. Objective To evaluate racial and ethnic differences in the performance of common ED imaging studies and to examine patterns across diagnoses. Design, Setting, and Participants This cross-sectional study evaluated visits by patients younger than 18 years to 44 US children's hospital EDs from January 1, 2016, through December 31, 2019. Exposures Non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic compared with non-Hispanic White race/ethnicity. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was the proportion of visits for each race/ethnicity group with at least 1 diagnostic imaging study, defined as plain radiography, computed tomography, ultrasonography, and magnetic resonance imaging. The major diagnostic categories classification system was used to examine race/ethnicity differences in imaging rates by diagnoses. Results A total of 13 087 522 visits by 6 230 911 children and adolescents (mean [SD] age, 5.8 [5.2] years; 52.7% male) occurred during the study period. Diagnostic imaging was performed during 3 689 163 visits (28.2%). Imaging was performed in 33.5% of visits by non-Hispanic White patients compared with 24.1% of visits by non-Hispanic Black patients (odds ratio [OR], 0.60; 95% CI, 0.60-0.60) and 26.1% of visits by Hispanic patients (OR, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.66-0.67). Adjusting for confounders, visits by non-Hispanic Black (adjusted OR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.82-0.83) and Hispanic (adjusted OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.87-0.87) patients were less likely to include any imaging study compared with visits by non-Hispanic White patients. Limiting the analysis to only visits by nonhospitalized patients, the adjusted OR for imaging was 0.79 (95% CI, 0.79-0.80) for visits by non-Hispanic Black patients and 0.84 (95% CI, 0.84-0.85) for visits by Hispanic patients. Results were consistent in analyses stratified by public and private insurance groups and did not materially differ by diagnostic category. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic children were less likely to receive diagnostic imaging during ED visits compared with non-Hispanic White children. Further investigation is needed to understand and mitigate these potential disparities in health care delivery and to evaluate the effect of these differential imaging patterns on patient outcomes. This cross-sectional study assesses the racial and ethnic differences in the performance of common emergency department imaging studies and examines patterns across diagnoses among US children's hospitals. Question Does the use of diagnostic imaging for children receiving care in US pediatric emergency departments (EDs) differ by race and ethnicity? Findings This multicenter cross-sectional study of more than 13 million pediatric ED visits to 44 children's hospitals demonstrated that non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients were less likely to undergo diagnostic imaging compared with non-Hispanic White patients. Meaning In these findings, race and ethnicity appear to be independently associated with imaging decisions in the pediatric ED, highlighting the need to better understand and mitigate these disparities.

Automated summary

This study examines racial and ethnic disparities in diagnostic imaging use in US pediatric emergency departments, finding that non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic patients were less likely to undergo imaging compared to non-Hispanic White patients. Further investigation is needed to understand and address these disparities.