Interventional radiology and fluoroscopy utilisation trends in Ireland: A multi-centre analysis (2018-2023)

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Significant knowledge gap exists regarding current fluoroscopy (FL) and interventional radiology (IR) utilisation in Ireland.
• Contemporary trends in adult FL and IR usage (2018-2023) require evaluation.
• Understanding age-stratified patterns and common procedures is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate annual trends in adult FL and IR usage from 2018 to 2023.
• To analyse age-stratified utilisation patterns of these imaging modalities.
• To identify the most frequently performed fluoroscopy and interventional radiology procedures.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, multi-centre analysis of 141,958 examinations from Ireland's National Integrated Medical Imaging System.
• Inclusion of data from ten public hospitals across five Health Service Executive groups.
• Categorisation by anatomical region and procedural intent, with polynomial regression and Chi-square tests for trend and age distribution analysis.

Main Results:

• Interventional radiology (IR) and intraoperative fluoroscopy in theatre (TH) constituted the majority of procedures (44.21% and 44.58%, respectively), with fluoroscopy (FL) at 11.21%.
• Overall volumes exhibited a nonlinear trend: a 19% decline (2018-2020) followed by a 33.6% increase (2020-2023).
• IR demonstrated pandemic resilience (5.3% decrease in 2020); common IR procedures included angiograms, PICC insertions, and pain injections, while swallow studies dominated FL. Peak utilisation was in the 60-69 age group.

Conclusions:

• This study offers the first comprehensive analysis of FL and IR trends in Ireland.
• Post-pandemic, a rise in IR and theatre imaging, coupled with a decline in FL usage, aligns with global trends.
• Findings support informed policy, planning, and service development for medical imaging services.