Competence of radiologists in cardiac CT and MR imaging in Europe: insights from the ESCR Registry

Federica Catapano, Lukas Jakob Moser, Marco Francone, Carlo Catalano, Rozemarijn Vliegenthart, Ricardo P.J. Budde, Rodrigo Salgado, Maja Hrabak Paar, Maja Pirnat, Christian Loewe, Konstantin Nikolaou, Michelle C. Williams, Giuseppe Muscogiuri, Luigi Natale, Lukas Lehmkuhl, Malte Maria Sieren, Matthias Gutberlet, Hatem Alkadhi*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
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Abstract

Rationale: 

To provide an overview of the current status of cardiac multimodality imaging practices in Europe and radiologist involvement using data from the European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology (ESCR) MRCT-registry. 

Materials and methods: 

Numbers on cardiac CT and MRI examinations were extracted from the MRCT-registry of the ESCR, entered between January 2011 and October 2023 (n = 432,265). Data collection included the total/annual numbers of examinations, indications, complications, and reporting habits. 

Results: 

Thirty-two countries contributed to the MRCT-registry, including 29 European countries. Between 2011 and 2022, there was a 4.5-fold increase in annually submitted CT examinations, from 3368 to 15,267, and a 3.8-fold increase in MRI examinations, from 3445 to 13,183. The main indications for cardiac CT were suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) (59%) and transcatheter aortic valve replacement planning (21%). The number of patients with intermediate pretest probability who underwent CT for suspected CAD showed an increase from 61% in 2012 to 82% in 2022. The main MRI indications were suspected myocarditis (26%), CAD (21%), and suspected cardiomyopathy (19%). Adverse event rates were very low for CT (0.3%) and MRI (0.7%) examinations. Reporting of CT and MRI examinations was performed mainly by radiologists (respectively 76% and 71%) and, to a lesser degree, in consensus with non-radiologists (19% and 27%, respectively). The remaining examinations (4.9% CT and 1.7% MRI) were reported by non-radiological specialties or in separate readings of radiologists and non-radiologists. 

Conclusions: 

Real-life data on cardiac imaging in Europe using the largest available MRCT-registry demonstrate a considerable increase in examinations over the past years, the vast majority of which are read by radiologists. These findings indicate that radiologists contribute to meeting the increasing demands of competent and effective care in cardiac imaging to a relevant extent. 

Clinical relevance statement: 

The number of cardiac CT and MRI examinations has risen over the past years, and radiologists read the vast majority of these studies as recorded in the MRCT-registry. 

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5666-5677
Number of pages12
JournalEuropean Radiology
Volume34
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Feb 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2024.

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