Common faults in filling of radiological request forms

This prospective study was carried out in Ghana, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The aim was to highlight to the clinicians the common faults encountered in radiological request forms and to make recommendations aimed at improving information given on such forms which will facilitate better reporting by radiologists. 4,122 request forms from the three institutions were reviewed using a questionnaire and were analysed. The commonest fault was omission of the age of the patients; this occurred in 1,176 cases. Absence of clinical information in the request forms was noted in 946 cases and illegible entries were 658. There were 65 unconventional abbreviations used by clinicians on request forms. We recommend regular clinico-radiological meetings as continuing medical education for hospital doctors and general practitioners and also vetting of request forms for specialized radiological examinations to reduce the short-comings.