Postprocedure radiologist's interpretation of ERCP x-ray films: a prospective outcomes study.
OBJECTIVE
To prospectively determine if the current practice of radiologists' interpretation of post-ERCP spot images sent by endoscopists resulted in discrepancies in interpretation, affected subsequent management of patients, and resulted in additional costs.


METHODS
A prospective analysis of 145 consecutive patients who underwent ERCP over the course of 4 months was performed. A separate endoscopist, not involved in the patient's care, reviewed the radiologist's report of the ERCP x-ray films to determine whether there was either concordance or discordance with the procedural findings. All patients' clinical courses were prospectively followed for a minimum of 6 months to determine whether clinical decision-making was affected by the radiologists' interpretation of the x-ray films. Secondarily, the cost of the current practice of postprocedure interpretation of ECRP radiographs was measured.


METHODS
This study took place at University Hospitals of Cleveland, which is a tertiary care facility.


RESULTS
In total, there were 61 (47%) discordant interpretations of 130 cholangiograms and 27 (38%) discordant interpretations of 72 pancreatograms, with an overall discordance between an endoscopist and a radiologist in 80 (55%) of the 145 cases. Clinical management was subsequently affected in 3 (2.1%) cases, all of which involved a discordant reading. In each of the 3 cases, further testing validated the gastroenterologist's initial findings at the time of the procedure. Radiologists were reimbursed $5395 for interpretation of ERCP x-ray films. Extrapolated over the course of a year, the reimbursement at this single tertiary care hospital would be greater than $16,000. Additional testing based on discordant reports resulted in $2510 of reimbursement for 3 patients.


CONCLUSIONS
The limitation of this study is that it reflects data from only one academic institution.


CONCLUSIONS
Radiologists' interpretation of postprocedure ERCP films were inadequate, with a 47% discordance rate among cholangiograms and a 38% discordance rate among pancreatograms. The routine practice of postprocedure ERCP x-ray film interpretation by radiologists altered clinical practice in 2.1% of cases; subsequent care did not confirm radiologists' findings and imparted increased risk to the patients. This practice proved to be a misallocation of resources and should not be continued.
Kucera
Steve
S
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA.
Isenberg
Gerard
G
Chak
Amitabh
A
Wong
Richard C K
RC
Das
Ananya
A
Faulx
Ashley L
AL
Sivak
Michael V
MV
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D015607:Stents; D016896:Treatment Outcome