Early results of a French care-related adverse events database in radiology

The purpose of this study was to report the initial results of the declaration of care-related adverse events (CRAEs) in radiology in the French National Authority for Health (HAS) database for accreditation of radiological medical teams.

Between October 2018 and December 2020, 48 radiological teams (32 teams in 2019 and 16 teams in 2020; 471 registered radiologists) signed up to the team accreditation process, a system supported by the HAS. Reports of the CRAEs in radiology started in September 2019 after the team registration phase.

Among the 89 CRAEs reported, 28 (31%) were targeted as interventional radiology, 27 (30%) as linked to contrast media and 11 (12%) as related to MRI care; the 23 other CRAEs reported included five defaults in the transmission of requests or results, five delays in diagnosis or treatment, four patient-identity monitoring events, four diagnostic radiology complications, four radiation protection events and one patient information problem. The severity was rated as "minor" for 53% of CRAEs and as "serious to critical" or "catastrophic" for 8% and 9% of CRAEs, respectively. They were preventable or probably preventable in 84% of all events.

These early results of this nation-wide CRAEs declaration database show the diversity of all CRAEs and their causes in radiological practice in France, and provide a global vision of areas for improvement of the quality of care in radiology. This should convince other radiologists to declare CRAEs and allow, in time, the production of recommendations and patient safety solutions as to limit the risks associated with radiological care.