Outpatient imaging efficiency

BACKGROUND: Respiratory diseases, including active tuberculosis (TB), asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), constitute substantial global health challenges, necessitating timely and accurate diagnosis for effective treatment and management. OBJECTIVE: This research seeks to develop and evaluate a noninvasive user-friendly artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cough audio classifier for detecting these respiratory conditions in rural Tanzania. METHODS: This is a nonexperimental cross-sectional research with the primary objective of collection and analysis of cough sounds from patients with active TB, asthma, and COPD in outpatient clinics to generate and evaluate a noninvasive cough audio classifier...

BACKGROUND: Unwarranted temporal and geographical variations are acknowledged as a profound problem for equal access and justice in the provision of health services. Even more, they challenge the quality, safety, and efficiency of such services. This is highly relevant for imaging services. OBJECTIVE: To analyse the temporal and geographical variation in the number of diagnostic images in Norway from 2013 to 2021. METHODS: Data on outpatient imaging provided by the Norwegian Health Economics Administration (HELFO) and inpatient data afforded by fourteen hospital trusts and hospitals in Norway...

BACKGROUND: Oral cancer poses a significant global health burden, with India having the highest prevalence. Effective detection is crucial in effective prevention. This study aimed to evaluate nuclear morphometric parameters (NMPs) in buccal mucosa cells of smokers, correlate NMPs with dysplasia, establish cut off values for grading dysplasia, and investigate the relationship between NMPs and smoking. METHODS: After obtaining ethical approval and informed consent, patients were recruited from the outpatient department of our institution...

BACKGROUND: The modified Gartland classification is an important tool for evaluation of pediatric supracondylar humerus fractures (SCHF) because it can direct treatment decisions. Gartland type I can be managed outpatient, while emergent surgical consult occurs with type II and III. This study assesses the interobserver reliability of the Gartland classification between pediatric radiologists and orthopedic providers. METHODS: A retrospective review of 320 children diagnosed with a SCHF at a single tertiary children's hospital during 2022 was conducted...

"Just Accepted" papers have undergone full peer review and have been accepted for publication in Radiology: Artificial Intelligence . This article will undergo copyediting, layout, and proof review before it is published in its final version. Please note that during production of the final copyedited article, errors may be discovered which could affect the content. Purpose To evaluate the effect of implementing two distinct commercially available deep learning reconstruction (DLR) algorithms on the efficiency of MRI examinations conducted in real clinical practice in an outpatient setting within a large, multicenter institution...

A State of the Art lecture titled "D-dimer Diagnostics: Can I use any D-dimer assay? Bridging the Knowledge-to-Action gap" was presented at the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Congress in 2023, included in the session on the clinical impact of variability in commonly used coagulation assays. Here, we review the role of D-dimer, primarily in the outpatient diagnosis of patients with venous thromboembolism (VTE) when combined with clinical decision rules. We focus on the recent large management trials that have studied adjustments of VTE exclusion thresholds for D-dimer based on either prior clinical probability of VTE or patient age, and the resultant benefit of reduced imaging for VTE and improved diagnostic efficiency...

Radiology departments face challenges in delivering timely and accurate imaging reports, especially in high-volume, subspecialized settings. In this retrospective cohort study at a tertiary cancer center, we assessed the efficacy of an Automatic Assignment System (AAS) in improving radiology workflow efficiency by analyzing 232,022 CT examinations over a 12-month period post-implementation and compared it to a historical control period. The AAS was integrated with the hospital-wide scheduling system and set up to automatically prioritize and distribute unreported CT examinations to available radiologists based on upcoming patient appointments, coupled with an email notification system...

BACKGROUND: To cope with the rising number of patients with trauma in an already constrained Dutch health care system, Direct Discharge (DD) has been introduced in over 25 hospitals in the Netherlands since 2019. With DD, no routine follow-up appointments are scheduled after the emergency department (ED) visit, and patients are supported through information leaflets, a smartphone app, and a telephone helpline. DD reduces secondary health care use, with comparable patient satisfaction and primary health care use...

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between baseline white matter hyperintensities (WMH) and change in naming, content production, and efficiency after treatment in subacute aphasia. We hypothesized that more severe baseline WMH would result in less improvement with treatment. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of a cohort from a double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT). SETTING: Outpatient clinical setting or participant home. PARTICIPANTS: We retrospectively reviewed imaging and behavioral data for 52 participants with subacute aphasia due to left-hemisphere ischemic stroke enrolled in the RCT...

Percutaneous release is a common treatment option for trigger finger stenosing tenosynovitis. While surgical and conservative treatments are available, percutaneous techniques offer several advantages, including faster recovery time, reduced complications, and simultaneous treatment of multiple trigger fingers. The sono-instrument is a minimally invasive device designed for surgical release of the A1 pulley in adults. The device is efficient and safe, and in addition, several design features enhance the visibility of the instrument under ultrasound imaging...

Background and Objectives : Psoriasis is a chronic, long-term, incurable skin inflammatory disease characterized by the excessive proliferation of epidermal keratinocytes, dilation of blood vessels, thickening of the skin, and the formation of visible red patches of variable sizes. The impact on patients differs with the severity of the disease, leading to physiological discomfort and psychological distress, which significantly affect the quality of life. The etiology of psoriasis is not completely clear, but immune cells, including type 1 and type 17 cytokine-producing cells modulated by regulatory T cells (Tregs), play a critical role in driving the disease pathogenesis...

PURPOSE: Direct Discharge protocols (DD) can alleviate strain on healthcare systems by reducing routine outpatient follow-up. These protocols include low-complex musculoskeletal injuries, such as isolated greenstick fractures or torus fractures of the wrist in children. While there is consensus on the effectiveness of DD, there is a lack of injury-specific powered studies. This study compares treatment satisfaction between DD and traditional treatment in children with a greenstick fracture or torus fractures of the wrist...

AIMS: Blood pressure (BP) is a crucial factor in cardiovascular health and can affect cardiac imaging assessments. However, standard outpatient cardiovascular MR (CMR) imaging procedures do not typically include BP measurements prior to image acquisition. This study proposes that brachial systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) can be modelled using patient characteristics and CMR data. METHODS: In this multicentre study, 57 patients from the PREFER-CMR registry and 163 patients from other registries were used as the derivation cohort...

Background: The chest radiograph (CXR) is the most frequently performed radiological examination worldwide. The increasing volume of CXRs performed in hospitals causes reporting backlogs and increased waiting times for patients, potentially compromising timely clinical intervention and patient safety. Implementing computer-aided detection (CAD) artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms capable of accurate and rapid CXR reporting could help address such limitations. A novel use for AI reporting is the classification of CXRs as 'abnormal' or 'normal'...

BACKGROUND: While the number of medical images has increased substantially, the demand has outpaced access, resulting in long wait times in many countries. Long wait times are a key problem for patient safety and quality of care as they can result in prolonged suffering, delayed diagnosis and treatment, as well as poorer prognosis and loss of lives. Surprisingly, little is known about wait times for imaging services. OBJECTIVE: Investigate wait times for specific imaging services in Norway and to compare wait times with the total number of examinations and their development over time...

OBJECTIVES: The experience of thermal ablation of lung lesions is limited, especially performing the procedure under localisation by cone-beam CT in the hybrid operation room (HOR). Here, we present the experience of microwave ablation (MWA) of lung nodules in the HOR. METHODS: We reviewed patients who underwent image-guide percutaneous MWA for lung nodules in the HOR under general anaesthesia between July 2020 and July 2022. The workflow in the HOR including the pre-procedure preparation, anaesthesia consideration, operation methods, and postoperative care was clearly described...

In the event of prior authorization denial, physicians may request peer-to-peer review, which may delay treatment and increase administrative burden. The purpose of this study was to quantify the approval rate of peer-to-peer review and evaluate its efficiency in the context of advanced imaging use in an orthopedic practice. Patients at a single outpatient orthopedic clinic initially receiving an insurance denial for computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging requiring peer-to-peer review from March to December 2022 were prospectively enrolled...

INTRODUCTION: Speech Language Therapy First Point of Contact Clinic (SLT-FPOCC) models can assist assessment of low-risk patient populations referred to ear, nose and throat (ENT) services. To further improve ENT waitlist management and compliance with best-practice care, consideration of other low-risk populations that could be safely managed through this service model is needed. The aims of this paper are to evaluate the clinical and service outcomes of completing vocal cord check (VCC) assessments for patients' pre and post thyroid/parathyroid surgery within an SLT-FPOCC model and examine consumer perceptions...

INTRODUCTION: In the context of budgetary constraints faced by healthcare systems, the medical-economic evaluation of care strategies becomes essential. In particular, valuing consumed resources in the overcrowded emergency departments (EDs) has become a priority to adopt more efficient approaches in treating the growing number of patients. However, precisely measuring the cost of care is challenging. While bottom-up micro-costing is considered the gold standard, its practical application remains limited...

Post-operative urinary retention is a medical condition where patients cannot urinate despite having a full bladder. Ultrasound imaging of the bladder is used to estimate urine volume for early diagnosis and management of urine retention. Moreover, the use of bladder ultrasound can reduce the need for an indwelling urinary catheter and the risk of catheter-associated urinary tract infection. Wearable ultrasound devices combined with machine-learning based bladder volume estimation algorithms reduce the burdens of nurses in hospital settings and improve outpatient care...