[Structured reporting in radiology-a chance for young radiologists?]

Structured reporting of computed tomography in the polytrauma patient assessment: a Delphi consensus proposal

OBJECTIVES

To develop a structured reporting (SR) template for whole-body CT examinations of polytrauma patients, based on the consensus of a panel of emergency radiology experts from the Italian Society of Medical and Interventional Radiology.

METHODS

A multi-round Delphi method was used to quantify inter-panelist agreement for all SR sections. Internal consistency for each section and quality analysis in terms of average inter-item correlation were evaluated by means of the Cronbach's alpha (Cα) correlation coefficient.

RESULTS

The final SR form included 118 items (6 in the "Patient Clinical Data" section, 4 in the "Clinical Evaluation" section, 9 in the "Imaging Protocol" section, and 99 in the "Report" section). The experts' overall mean score and sum of scores were 4.77 (range 1-5) and 257.56 (range 206-270) in the first Delphi round, and 4.96 (range 4-5) and 208.44 (range 200-210) in the second round, respectively. In the second Delphi round, the experts' overall mean score was higher than in the first round, and standard deviation was lower (3.11 in the second round vs 19.71 in the first round), reflecting a higher expert agreement in the second round. Moreover, Cα was higher in the second round than in the first round (0.97 vs 0.87).

CONCLUSIONS

Our SR template for whole-body CT examinations of polytrauma patients is based on a strong agreement among panel experts in emergency radiology and could improve communication between radiologists and the trauma team.

[Structured reporting in radiology : IT essentials]

A clinically meaningful use of structured reporting, which in the opinion of numerous scientific societies and experts is a very important prerequisite for the further development of radiological findings, especially under quality aspects, requires corresponding standards for implementation in IT systems. In addition to DICOM ("digital imaging and communication in medicine"), these are other standards for coding, for example RadLex ("radiological lexicon") or the specification of so-called interoperability profiles, as they are being developed by IHE ("integrating the healthcare enterprise"). The management of radiology report templates (MRRT) profiles is the central building block for this. The building blocks for efficient IT implementation, which also allow harmonization, for example at a national level, are currently available. Users in radiology should familiarize themselves with them and demand appropriate solutions from manufacturers.

[Integration of structured reporting into the routine radiological workflow]

Klinisches/methodisches Problem

Strukturierte Befundung ist seit Jahren eines der meist diskutierten Themen in der Radiologie. Aktuell herrscht ein Mangel an nutzerfreundlichen Softwarelösungen, welche in die bestehende IT-Infrastruktur der Kliniken und Praxen integriert sind und effiziente Dateneingaben erlauben.

Radiologische Standardverfahren

Radiologische Befunde werden meist als Freitext über Spracherkennungssysteme diktiert oder per Tastatur eingegeben. Zudem werden Textbausteine für die Erstellung von Normalbefunden verwendet und bei Bedarf durch Freitextinhalte ergänzt.

Methodische Innovationen

Softwarebasierte Befundungssysteme können Spracherkennungssysteme mit radiologischen Befundvorlagen in Form von interaktiven Entscheidungsbäumen vereinen. Eine technische Integration in RIS(Radiologieinformationssystem)-, PACS(„picture archiving and communication system“)- und AV(„advanced visualization“)-Systeme über Programmierschnittstellen und Interoperabilitätsstandards ermöglicht effiziente Prozesse und die Generierung maschinenlesbarer Befunddaten.

Leistungsfähigkeit

Strukturierte, semantisch annotierte klinische Daten, die über ein strukturiertes Befundungssystem erhoben werden, stehen unmittelbar für epidemiologische Datenauswertungen und kontinuierliches KI(Künstliche Intelligenz)-Training zur Verfügung.

Bewertung

Der Einsatz der strukturierten Befundung in der radiologischen Routinediagnostik ist mit einer initialen Umstellungsphase verbunden. Eine erfolgreiche Implementierung setzt eine enge Verzahnung der technischen Infrastruktur mehrerer Systeme voraus.

Empfehlung für die Praxis

Durch die Nutzung einer hybriden, softwarebasierten Befundungslösung können radiologische Befunde mit unterschiedlichen Stufen der Struktur generiert werden. Klinische Fragestellungen oder Informationen können aus klinischen Subsystemen semiautomatisch übertragen werden, um vermeidbare Fehler zu eliminieren und die Produktivität zu erhöhen.

[Structured reporting in daily practice-status quo and future]

CLINICAL/METHODICAL ISSUE

Introduction and application of structured reporting in radiology private practice.

STANDARD RADIOLOGICAL METHODS

Ultrasound (US), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), digital x‑ray (DR), mammography (MG).

METHODOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS

Structuring and predefinition of entire reports and report parts.

PERFORMANCE

Structured reporting in radiology presumably allows for higher report quality, reproducibility and easier access to data mining. Also the communication with the referring physicians can be improved. Although these advantages are well acknowledged, structured reporting does not prevail in private radiology practices. This article sheds light on the current situation of structured reporting in radiology private practice and provides information for the faltering implementation as well as perspective for individual potential solutions to overcome this situation.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Structured reporting is not yet standard. Growing acceptance of structured reporting can be expected.

PRACTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS

The application of structured reporting can improve report quality. The use of structured reporting should be considered for common examinations.