# Influencing factors on the time to CT in suspected pulmonary embolism: an explorative investigation

## TL;DR

This study explores factors affecting the time to perform a CT scan for suspected pulmonary embolism, finding that location, urgency, and workload influence delays.

## Contribution

The study identifies specific in-hospital factors influencing CT scan timing for pulmonary embolism, including distance, patient care sector, and workload.

## Key findings

- Emergency room cases had shorter CTPA times compared to inpatients and outpatients at certain distances.
- Urgent and life-threatening cases had significantly reduced workflow times compared to non-urgent cases.
- Increased CT demand prolonged the time to perform CTPA.

## Abstract

Pulmonary embolism is a potentially fatal condition with increased mortality if anticoagulation is delayed. This study aimed to find influencing factors on the duration from requesting a computed tomography (CT) pulmonary angiography (CTPA) to performing a CTPA in suspected acute pulmonary embolism. In 1849 cases, automatically generated time data were extracted from the radiological information system. The impact of the distance to the scanner, case-related features (sector of patient care, triage), and workload (demand for CTs, performed CTs, available staff, hospital occupancy) were investigated retrospectively using multiple regression. The time to CTPA was shorter in cases from the emergency room (ER) than in inpatients and outpatients at distances below 160 m and 240 m, respectively. While requests from the ER were also performed faster than cases from regular wards (< 180 m), no difference was found between the ER and intensive care units. Compared to “not urgent” cases, the workflow was shorter in “urgent” (− 17%) and “life-threatening” (− 67%) situations. The process was prolonged with increasing demand (+ 5%/10 CTs). The presented analysis identified relevant in-hospital influences on the CTPA workflow, including the distance to the CT together with the sector of patient care, the case triage, and the demand for imaging.