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The patients' experience of neuroimaging of primary brain tumors: a cross-sectional survey study
Ivar J H G Wamelink1,2, Hugo L Hempel3, Elsmarieke van de Giessen3,4
1Radiology & Nuclear Medicine Department, Amsterdam UMC Location Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. i.j.wamelink@amsterdamumc.nl.
Purpose:
To gain insight into how patients with primary brain tumors experience MRI, follow-up protocols, and gadolinium-based contrast agent (GBCA) use.
Methods:
Primary brain tumor patients answered a survey after their MRI exam. Questions were analyzed to determine trends in patients' experience regarding the scan itself, follow-up frequency, and the use of GBCAs. Subgroup analysis was performed on sex, lesion grade, age, and the number of scans. Subgroup comparison was made using the Pearson chi-square test and the Mann-Whitney U-test for categorical and ordinal questions, respectively.
Results:
Of the 100 patients, 93 had a histopathologically confirmed diagnosis, and seven were considered to have a slow-growing low-grade tumor after multidisciplinary assessment and follow-up. 61/100 patients were male, with a mean age ± standard deviation of 44 ± 14 years and 46 ± 13 years for the females. Fifty-nine patients had low-grade tumors. Patients consistently underestimated the number of their previous scans. 92% of primary brain tumor patients did not experience the MRI as bothering and 78% would not change the number of follow-up MRIs. 63% of the patients would prefer GBCA-free MRI scans if diagnostically equally accurate. Women found the MRI and receiving intravenous cannulas significantly more uncomfortable than men (p = 0.003). Age, diagnosis, and the number of previous scans had no relevant impact on the patient experience.
Conclusion:
Patients with primary brain tumors experienced current neuro-oncological MRI practice as positive. Especially women would, however, prefer GBCA-free imaging if diagnostically equally accurate. Patient knowledge of GBCAs was limited, indicating improvable patient information.
