Hospital emergency departments are failing to test teen girls for pregnancy, even after complaining of lower abdominal pain, and are more often exposing them to unnecessary radiation, warns a report on health care.
The findings presented Friday Oct.19, at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans found the practice escalating the risks of birth defects and underlined the need for improving the quality of pregnancy diagnosis in the hospital emergency departments (ED) across the country.
For the analysis, researchers used National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data that included details of female patients, aged between 14 and 21, who visited hospital emergency departments between 2000 and 2009.
They found out of the 77 million ED visits of young girls, only a minority (14.5 million or 18.7 percent) receiving a pregnancy test, even after seeking medical help for abdominal pain.
The findings bring concern as exposure to radiation, either by a chest radiograph or CT scan can increase birth defects.
"We were surprised to find that pregnancy testing occurred infrequently," study author Monika Goyal, in a news release.
"It was particularly concerning that rates of pregnancy testing were low even among females with potential reproductive health complaints or with exposure to radiation through diagnostic testing, like CT scans."
Concerned by the findings, the investigators recommended the need for improving pregnancy diagnosis in teen girls in emergency departments.
"These findings underscore the need to develop quality improvement interventions to increase pregnancy testing in adolescent girls in the emergency department, especially among those with higher risk of pregnancy complications," Goyal added.
