Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal-Journal De L Association Canadienne Des Radiologistes最新文献

Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) offers excellent negative predictive value for ruling out obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD); however, several interpretative pitfalls can lead to diagnostic errors including false-negative, false-positive results or inaccurate estimation of degree of stenosis. These errors may influence patient management, prompt unnecessary or missed downstream testing, and ultimately affect clinical outcomes. This two-part article reviews the most common sources of diagnostic inaccuracy in CCTA through case-based examples. Part I highlights factors that contribute to missed or overdiagnosed coronary lesions while Part II focuses on pitfalls that lead to underestimation or overestimation of stenosis severity and outlines practical strategies to mitigate these errors. Recognizing the inherent limitations of CCTA and employing a systematic, structured interpretive approach are essential for preserving its high diagnostic accuracy and ensuring optimal patient care.

Accurate quantification of coronary stenosis on coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is essential for appropriate risk stratification and clinical decision-making, yet several technical and interpretative pitfalls can compromise diagnostic accuracy. This second part of a two-part review examines common factors that lead to overestimation or underestimation of stenosis severity, with attention to how these errors influence CAD-RADS categorization, downstream testing, and patient management. Using case-based examples, we describe key contributors to misinterpretation and present practical strategies to mitigate these pitfalls. By recognizing these nuances and employing a structured, standardized interpretive approach, readers can minimize errors in stenosis assessment and enhance the reliability of CCTA as a noninvasive tool for evaluating coronary artery disease.

Radiology is among the most capital-intensive specialities in healthcare, relying on high-cost imaging equipment, complex information technology infrastructure, long-term vendor contracts, and increasingly, artificial intelligence systems. Decisions about these resources shape patient access, diagnostic quality, workforce sustainability, and the long-term resilience of imaging services. Despite this, most radiologists receive little formal training in key financial concepts, and financial decision-making is often perceived as external to clinical practice. This article positions foundational financial reasoning as a core competency for radiologists, introducing key concepts from financial management, including: liquidity, leverage, efficiency, profitability, risk, and capital budgeting, and translating them into clinically meaningful frameworks relevant to radiology. Using practical examples and mini-cases, this article demonstrates how commonly used financial ratios and investment appraisal tools can be interpreted as diagnostic tools for organisational health rather than abstract accounting exercises. Interpreting financial metrics as an integrated system rather than as isolated indicators is important in demonstrating how short-term resilience, long-term commitments, operational efficiency, and sustainability interact in real-world radiology decision-making. Extending this framework to the measurement of value beyond volume and revenue, highlighting the potential role of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), as well as the relevance of implementation science and change management, is important in ensuring that financially sound investments deliver meaningful clinical impact. By equipping radiologists with a shared language and conceptual toolkit for engaging with financial decisions, this article aims to strengthen clinical leadership, support transparent resource allocation, and promote resilient, high-value imaging services aligned with patient-centred care.

Prostate cancer (PCa) remains a leading cause of cancer-related morbidity and mortality among men worldwide. Multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) is currently the gold standard for PCa detection, diagnosis, and active surveillance. However, its reliance on dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging introduces safety concerns, higher costs, and longer scan times. Biparametric MRI (bpMRI), which omits DCE, has emerged as a streamlined alternative that retains T2-weighted and diffusion-weighted imaging. This review critically examines the technical considerations, diagnostic performance, clinical applications, and limitations of bpMRI compared to mpMRI. We evaluate bpMRI's sensitivity, specificity, and negative predictive value in detecting clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa), highlighting its advantages in terms of patient safety, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness. Despite promising findings, the widespread clinical adoption of bpMRI is hindered by variability in imaging protocols, limited large-scale validation, and concerns over missed subtle lesions. Future directions include standardizing bpMRI protocols, integrating artificial intelligence and biomarkers, and conducting multi-centre trials to establish its role in PCa management. bpMRI holds significant potential as a reliable and efficient imaging tool that could complement or replace mpMRI in select clinical contexts.

The Canadian Association of Radiologists Incidental Findings Working Group (CAR IFWG) has developed new recommendations for the management of incidental findings of the spleen, lymph nodes, peritoneum, and mesentery, tailored to the Canadian healthcare context. This guidance addresses splenomegaly, focal splenic lesions, splenic artery aneurysms, lymphadenopathy, mesenteric panniculitis, and peritoneal nodules. Building on prior American College of Radiology (ACR) guidance and integrating recent evidence, the CAR IFWG offers a pragmatic approach emphasizing radiologic features, clinical context, and patient risk factors to minimize unnecessary follow-up. The recommendations aim to streamline care, reduce patient anxiety, and support radiologists in distinguishing benign from potentially malignant findings in asymptomatic individuals.

Purpose: A survey to determine the availability of after-hours IR on-call services at Ontario hospitals that have a radiology department. A secondary outcome is to determine potential barriers to the provision of IR after-hours on call services within the province. Methods: A survey was created and distributed to the radiology department heads across Ontario during a 6-week period in 2024. Results: The survey was sent to the department heads at 73 hospitals across the province of Ontario. Survey completion rate was 41% (30/73). Two thirds of the respondents had formal IR divisions (20/30, 66.7%). A total of 14 hospitals with IR departments offered on call services (70%, 14/20) and 2 of the hospitals without IR departments (2/10, 20%) offered on call services for non-vascular IR procedures (eg, abscess drainage). 92.9% of the groups offering IR call services stated year-over-year demand was increasing. The most common barrier to after-hours services were staffing resources. Conclusion: After-hours IR services have limited availability in the province of Ontario, and not all hospitals with IR departments currently provide after-hours access to IR procedures. The main barrier to provision of after-hours services is the lack of health human resources, in particular IR physicians.