Patients In Radiology Department Research Articles

Pre-operative magnetic resonance imaging as a predictor of success in lumbar disc herniation patients undergoing laminectomy

Introduction. Lumbar disc herniation is a condition in which annulus fibrosus in the lumbar area is herniated with numerous etiologies, such as degenerative. One of the mainstay treatment for lumbar disc herniation is decompressive laminectomy. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) with the diagnostic accuracy of 97% also has an excellent resolution for soft tissue. The aim of this study is whether pre-operative MRI may be a predictor of successful clinical outcome in lumbar disc herniation patients undergoing laminectomy surgery. Methods. In this cross-sectional study, we consecutively collected all patients in Radiology Department “Prof. Dr. IGNG Ngoerah” Hospital, Denpasar Bali between January 2021 to December 2022. We enrolled patients with older than 18 years old who had undergone pre-operative lumbosacral MRI and had laminectomy surgery within the sampling time period. The following variables were recorded from each patient: age, gender, Body mass index (BMI), history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, number of herniated discs, herniation grade, spinal canal stenosis grade, neural foramen stenosis grade, lateral recess stenosis grade, annular tear, disc degeneration, facet disc degeneration, thickening of ligamentum flavum, modic changes, cerebrospinal liquor obstruction, and clinical outcome. Outcomes. We collected 30 patients who underwent laminectomy surgery and had their pre-operative MRI. Patients’ mean age ± SD was 57.7±10.9 years old with 20 male (66.7%) and 10 female (33.3%). There was no significant association between gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, body mass index, number of disc herniation, spinal canal stenosis, lateral recess stenosis, neural foramen stenosis, disc degeneration, facet joint degeneration, ligamentum flavum hypertrophy, Modic changes and cerebrospinal liquor obstruction with clinical outcome post laminectomy patients. Conclusion. Pre-operative MRI can reliably diagnose lumbar disc herniation but are not a predictive tool in assessing the clinical outcome of post-laminectomy patients. Laminectomy has an excellent management value for lumbar disc herniation patients especially in reducing the pain, and for them to have better quality of life.

Using time motion study to identify the determinants of patient satisfaction and impact of long appointment wait time: an empirical case of radiology department

Long waiting time is an annoyance to the patients and it leads to negative perception of service provider. The study examined the determinants of patient satisfaction index with imaging services being provided by the healthcare provider with an emphasis on the waiting time and service time and overall average waiting time for the patients in radiology department. A cross-sectional time study was conducted using single blind observance of patients who visited the radiology department. Further, root cause analysis (RCA) of the factors leading to longer wait time was undertaken. The results revealed that longer waiting time was negatively associated with patient satisfaction regarding several aspects of the care they received. It is not always possible to prevent dissatisfaction with waiting times by increasing resources such as increasing staffing. However, corrective and preventive action (CAPA)-based best practices and recommendations are outlined to ensure lesser waiting time and higher patient satisfaction.

Static Renal Scintigraphy in Diagnosis of Pediatric Renal Pyelonephritis

Imaging of children who had symptoms and signs of pyelonephritis is aimed to diagnosis of renal injury and identification of risk factors for pyelonephritis that might be uncovered during imaging includes vesico- ureteric reflux (VUR). The purpose of this study was to determine the role of static renal scintigraphy in diagnosis of pediatric renal pyelonephritis and the value of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in diagnosis. This study was carried out on 50 patients in Radiology Department at Mansoura Urology and Nephrology center and Radiology department at Tanta university hospitals. High grade vesicoureteric reflux (grade IV & V) was detected in 70% of the cases. 42.8% of the cases had vesicoureteric reflux in both kidneys, 42.8% of the cases had VUR only on the left side and 14.2% of the cases had VUR on the right side. A statistical significance was found between grades of pyelonephritis and grades of vescio-ureteric reflux, so there was a strong association between high grade VUR and renal pyelonephritis. It was found that no significant difference was found as regard to the number of abnormal segments detected by static renal scintigraphy and SPECT imaging. Static renal scintigraphy is considered the gold standard for diagnosis of children with pyelonephritis and detection the risk of renal scarring due to recurrent infection. SPECT offers no statistically significant diagnostic advantage over static images for detection of cortical defects.

Using Time Motion Study to identify the determinants of Patient Satisfaction and impact of Long Appointment Wait Time: An Empirical Case of Radiology department

Long waiting time is an annoyance to the patients and it leads to negative perception of service provider. The study examined the determinants of patient satisfaction index with imaging services being provided by the healthcare provider with an emphasis on the waiting time and service time and overall average waiting time for the patients in radiology department. A cross-sectional time study was conducted using single blind observance of patients who visited the radiology department. Further, root cause analysis (RCA) of the factors leading to longer wait time was undertaken. The results revealed that longer waiting time was negatively associated with patient satisfaction regarding several aspects of the care they received. It is not always possible to prevent dissatisfaction with waiting times by increasing resources such as increasing staffing. However, corrective and preventive action (CAPA)-based best practices and recommendations are outlined to ensure lesser waiting time and higher patient satisfaction.

Left behind radiological investigations: An inherent problem

Objectives:To assess the number of investigations left behind by patients in radiology department, their cost, and the possible methods of reducing the problem.Materials and Methods:A total of 1424 radiographs, 160 computed tomography (CT) scans, 300 ultrasonography (USG) reports, and 46 Doppler reports were left behind by patients in one financial year. The total cost of these left behind investigations was calculated and the reports were categorized into normal and abnormal for each modality.Results:Of the radiographs left behind 658 were abnormal, with 211 among these being radiographs of postoperative patients. Thirty-seven percent of CT scans had positive findings. Sixty-eight percent of USG reports had positive findings while 46% of Doppler reports were abnormal.Conclusion:We believe that the cost and number of these left behind investigations over a period of time would definitely be significant for the health care system in a developing country. It is time to think of the possible reasons and methods for containing this problem.