Structured CT reports improve cancer staging, communication between radiologists and surgeons
Structured reporting of gastric cancer on CT exams ensures radiologists relay key features for correctly staging the disease and provides information needed for surgical planning, according to an analysis published in the European Journal of Radiology.
Imaging providers typically utilize free-text documentation for computed tomography reports. In recent years, however, structured formats have grown in popularity, owing to greater accuracy and consistency.
Applying this practice to gastric cancer—the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide—showed structured reports incorporated all features needed to properly assess lesions. Free-text, meanwhile, often reported on only about 7 of the 10.
Commenting on their findings, Jing Liu, a radiologist at Peking University First Hospital in Beijing, and colleagues noted: “Structured reporting [SR] of gastric cancer staging has great advantages over non-SR in clinical application and can potentially improve the efficiency and accuracy of communication between radiologists and surgeons.”
For their study, two gastrointestinal rads and a GI surgeon developed a four-section structured template for staging gastric cancer. New cases were created in the radiology information system and randomly assigned to images from 51 previously performed free-text, multiphase CT reports.
Junior and senior GI rads often agreed on assessments in structured documents but reported lower agreement scores for free-text. Additionally, templates enhanced parts of key imaging features, such as adjacent organs and vessels, compared to narrative styles.
And based on survey results, both radiologists and surgeons preferred structured reporting. The latter group noted it was easier to extract information for procedures using templates rather than freestyle reports.
“Therefore, our results demonstrated that structured reporting has great potential in improving diagnostical confidence of radiologists and helping provide more clear and accurate results for clinicians,” the authors concluded.
Read much more from the study authors here.
Matt joined Chicago’s TriMed team in 2018 covering all areas of health imaging after two years reporting on the hospital field. He holds a bachelor’s in English from UIC, and enjoys a good cup of coffee and an interesting documentary.