Computed tomography colonography: Radiographer independent preliminary clinical evaluation for intraluminal pathology

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Gastroenterology

Background:

• Computed tomography colonography (CTC) is a valuable tool for detecting intraluminal pathology.
• Preliminary clinical evaluations (PCE) by radiographers can streamline reporting workflows.
• Assessing radiographer competency in PCE is crucial for quality assurance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reporting competency of radiographers in providing PCE for intraluminal pathology on CTC.
• To compare radiographer PCE against final radiology reports.

Main Methods:

• A database was created to capture radiographer and radiologist report data.
• A "pathology discrepancy and significance" (PDS) score was developed to quantify agreement.
• Agreement was assessed using percentage agreement and Kappa coefficient.

Main Results:

• High agreement (97.0%) or insignificant discrepancy between radiographer PCE and radiology reports was observed.
• Significant discrepancies occurred in 2.8% of cases, and major discrepancies in 0.2%.
• Agreement for significant pathologies was high at 98.4%.

Conclusions:

• Trained radiographers show potential for providing accurate PCE of intraluminal pathology in CTC.
• The findings support the integration of radiographer-led PCE into clinical practice.
• This can potentially improve efficiency and patient management in CTC services.