UTERINE ARTERY EMBOLISATION: CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT REDUCES RADIATION DOSE WHILE MAINTAINING IMAGE QUALITY

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Interventional Radiology
• Radiation Oncology

Background:

• Uterine artery embolisation (UAE) involves radiation exposure.
• Optimising radiation dose in UAE is crucial for patient safety.
• Continuous quality improvement (CQI) offers a framework for enhancing medical procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement a CQI program for radiation dose optimisation in UAE.
• To evaluate the impact of CQI on radiation dose parameters.
• To assess the effect of dose optimisation on image quality during UAE.

Main Methods:

• A CQI program was introduced to optimise radiation dose parameters.
• Two groups were compared: CQI intervention (n=50) and Control (n=50).
• Visual grading characteristics (VGC) analysis assessed image quality, with the Control group as reference.

Main Results:

• The CQI intervention group showed a significant 17% reduction in kerma-area product (KAP) (P=0.041).
• Reference air kerma (Ka, r) decreased by 20% in the intervention group (P=0.027).
• Area under the VGC curve (AUCVGC) was 0.54, indicating no significant difference in image quality (P=0.670).

Conclusions:

• The CQI program effectively optimised radiation dose parameters during UAE.
• Radiation dose reduction was achieved without negatively impacting diagnostic image quality.
• CQI implementation improved radiation dose practices in uterine artery embolisation procedures.