UTERINE ARTERY EMBOLISATION: CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT REDUCES RADIATION DOSE WHILE MAINTAINING IMAGE QUALITY.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to introduce a continuous quality improvement (CQI) program for radiation dose optimisation during uterine artery embolisation (UAE) and assess its impact on dose reduction and image quality. The CQI program investigated the effects of optimising radiation dose parameters on the kerma-area product (KAP) and image quality when comparing a 'CQI intervention' group (n=50) and 'Control' group (n=50). Visual grading characteristics (VGC) analysis was used to assess image quality, using the 'Control' group as a reference. A significant reduction in KAP by 17% (P=0.041, d=0.2) and reference air kerma (Ka, r) by 20% (P=0.027, d=0.2) was shown between the two groups. The VGC analysis resulted in an area under the VGC curve (AUCVGC) of 0.54, indicating no significant difference in image quality between the two groups (P=0.670). The implementation of the CQI program and optimisation of radiation dose parameters improved the UAE radiation dose practices at our centre. The dose reduction demonstrated no detrimental effects on image quality.