Clinical and cost effectiveness of CT and MRI for selected clinical disorders

Findings from the search strategies, 48 systematic reviews (SRs) of identified SRs and economic evaluations may clinical effectiveness, and 21 complete economic not be sufficiently contemporary in some evaluations met the inclusion criteria for analysis instances to be useful to clinicians and decision for 11 and eight of the clinical conditions makers. [...] A 2000 report by the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) estimated the average purchase cost of a CT machine to be $1,400,000, and that of an MRI machine to be $2,500,000.1 Operating and maintenance costs, updates to software and hardware, radiologists’ fees to provide scan interpretation, and building or renovating expenses to provide suitable space for the machines must also be considered [...] In 2000, the CAR estimated the life cycles to be eight years for CT machines and six years for MRI.1 The indications for the use of CT and MRI scanners are not restricted through government regulation or licensing. [...] Given the increasing demand for CT and MRI tests, and constrained resources, the tests’ clinical and cost effectiveness of these technologies must be established in the investigation of disorders where their application has been considered controversial. [...] The quality of the studies in the included articles was assessed using the Oxman and Guyatt tool,2-4 which consists of nine questions to evaluate study methods and their vulnerability to bias.