This year, the main theme of the International Day of Radiology is emergency radiology. To get some insight into the field, we spoke to Dr. Csaba Traply, head of the emergency department radiology unit and chief emergency radiology consultant at the radiology department of Odense University Hospital in Odense, Denmark.

European Society of Radiology: Could you please describe the role of the radiologist in a typical emergency department in your country?
Csaba Traply: Our emergency department, which opened five years ago, is the first of its kind in Denmark. I was the first Danish radiologist to be employed as a full-time, emergency radiologist.
Together with my younger colleagues (who are in rotation in various radiology subsections, including our emergency section) we are part of a team in the emergency department. Our main focus is to give optimal, expedient examinations and diagnoses to incoming patients. Our goal is for patients to have a preliminary diagnosis within four hours of arriving at the emergency department, no matter what the time of day. In our case, patients usually receive a final diagnosis within this period, thanks to having a radiology unit physically located in the emergency department and available around the clock.
In other hospitals in Denmark, similar emergency departments have just been established. Unfortunately, not all of these will include an on-site radiology unit, and among those that do, not all will have an on-site radiologist.
Personally, I cannot imagine emergency radiology without the constant, physical presence of a radiologist, as the condition and required diagnostics for emergency patients can change rapidly. Therefore, I think that our presence and participation as part of the emergency team is essential.

Dr. Csaba Traply is head of the radiology unit in the emergency department and chief consultant in emergency radiology at the radiology department at Odense University Hospital in Odense, Denmark.

ESR: What does a typical day in the emergency department look like for a radiologist?
CT: In the early morning, only few new patients arrive. At around 10:00, the number of patients starts to increase, and the number of visitors peaks between 14:00–20:00. I think that this is a universal pattern in all emergency departments. Naturally, the workload follows this timeline.
Every morning begins by reporting examinations from the previous night, as well as visitation of the previous referrals and the beginning of new examinations. In the meantime, examinations of the newly arriving patients also commence.

ESR: Teamwork is crucial in an emergency department. How is this accomplished in your department and who is involved?
CT: As I already mentioned, in our emergency department, there is an on-site radiology unit with an on-site radiologist and technicians. We are an active part of the team, and in many cases, we are guiding clinicians to choose the appropriate examinations, and often our report influences patients’ treatment. This happens through direct communication and collaboration with the clinicians, often before our final report is released. So far, this works well and is a model in emergency medicine in Denmark. This is why I find it difficult to imagine that examinations take place in the emergency department, but the reporting takes place outside the emergency department.
If necessary, we cooperate and consult with the other subsections in our radiology department (e.g. neuroradiology, thoracic and abdominal radiology).

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This year, the main theme of the International Day of Radiology is emergency radiology. To get some insight into the field, we spoke to Prof. Damir Miletić, head of the radiology department at the Clinical Hospital Centre in Rijeka, Croatia.

European Society of Radiology: Could you please describe the role of the radiologist in a typical emergency department in your country?
Damir Miletić: Radiologists are involved with the majority of patients admitted to the emergency department because most adult patients require radiology services as part of their treatment. Sometimes we wonder if all these cases really are emergencies. However, during a busy shift, we don’t have time to check the indication, particularly for conventional radiography. We notice that proper clinical examinations are sometimes not only supplemented with, but often replaced with imaging and blood tests. That is magnified when the emergency department workload overwhelms the staff’s capacity. We encounter ‘defensive medicine’ in some clinical scenarios, but in emergency radiology, it is more evident than in other radiology specialties. Radiologists are imaging consultants for cross-sectional imaging indications like CT, MR or ultrasound in emergency settings because referring physicians are required to contact the radiologist to briefly explain their requests. Conventional radiography, however, does not usually require a radiologist’s approval.

Prof. Damir Miletić is an abdominal radiologist who is head of the radiology department at the Clinical Hospital Centre in Rijeka, Croatia; and chairman of radiology at the medical faculty at the University of Rijeka.

ESR: What does a typical day in the emergency department look like for a radiologist?
DM: A typical day for a radiologist in our country varies with the size of the hospital and its spectrum of specialty departments. In some hospitals, that means 20 patients per 12-hour shift. However in others, that number may increase up to 80 to 120 patients, including 10 to 15 CT scans and 5 to 10 ultrasound examinations. In hospitals with 24-hour shifts, that may be exhausting for radiologists and residents. In Croatian hospitals, interventional and paediatric radiologists have daily or weekly on-call duties. A pilot study in the Croatian university hospital revealed that ultrasound requests doubled and CT requests tripled within the 10-year follow-up, while the number of patients admitted to the emergency department is held constant. That study clearly shows a significant increase in cross-sectional diagnostics per emergency patient.

ESR: Teamwork is crucial in an emergency department. How is this accomplished in your department and who is involved?
DM: A typical radiology team in the emergency-radiology department includes a radiologist, a resident and a radiology technologist. During day shifts, they take care of emergency patients and synchronise emergency examinations with those of regularly scheduled patients. Frequently, experts in various radiology specialties are consulted and, when necessary, directly involved in problem-solving. They enrich quality of our radiological service, particularly when postoperative complications are suspected or in complex interdisciplinary cases. Overnight and weekend shifts are completely different because radiologists and residents are dealing with the whole spectrum of radiological emergencies. In paediatric emergencies, clinicians frequently follow their patients to radiology to attend the examination. This is also the case for adult patients who present with life-threatening emergencies and for patients who require a CT examination due to polytrauma.

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This year, the main theme of the International Day of Radiology is emergency radiology. To get some insight into the field, we spoke to Moscow radiologist and radiology educator Dr. Elvira Akchurina, a senior radiologist in the Radiology Department of a Federal Center of Treatment and Rehabilitation in Moscow, Russia.

European Society of Radiology: Could you please describe the role of the radiologist in a typical emergency department in your country?
Elvira Akchurina: In our hospital, there is a radiologist on duty at night. The radiologist gets a request for an emergency study and gets acquainted with the case. In complicated cases, and if time permits, the radiologist speaks with the patient or emergency physician to understand the trauma and selects the best diagnostic approach. Radiologists control the examination and interpret its results. Then they discuss the radiologic findings with the emergency physician.

Dr. Elvira Akchurina, MD, PhD, works as a senior radiologist in the Radiology Department of a Federal Center of Treatment and Rehabilitation in Moscow, Russia.

ESR: What does a typical day in the emergency department look like for a radiologist?
EA: Usually it’s a busy day with lots of cases. During breaks radiologists interpret nonemergency cases.

ESR: Teamwork is crucial in an emergency department. How is this accomplished in your department and who is involved?
EA: Effective teamwork is the only way to get the correct diagnosis quickly. Timely diagnosis is crucial for finding the optimal treatment plan in emergency cases. In our department, we use a picture archiving and communication system (PACS), radiological information system (RIS) and hospital information system (HIS), and radiologists have access to patients’ charts. And, of course, the radiologist discusses the clinical history and key imaging findings with the referring physician.

ESR: How satisfied are you with the workflow and your role in your department? How do you think it could be improved?
EA: I like the organisation of workflow in my department and the friendly atmosphere between physicians and nurses. I think it would be better if emergency physicians would offer radiologists more clinical-history detail on patients and provide clearer indication for the examination.

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This year, the main theme of the International Day of Radiology is emergency radiology. To get some insight into the field, we spoke to Dr. Kathia Chaumoître, professor and head of the radiology department at North Hospital, Aix Marseille University, France.

European Society of Radiology: Could you please describe the role of the radiologist in a typical emergency department in your country?
Kathia Chaumoître: There are constant interactions between the emergency department and the imaging department. The radiologist is involved in every aspect of patient management: discussion about indication, choice of the best imaging technique, realisation or management of the examination, interpretation and transmittal of results.

Dr. Kathia Chaumoître is professor and head of the radiology department at North Hospital, Aix Marseille University, France.

ESR: What does a typical day in the emergency department look like for a radiologist?
KC: There is not always a dedicated team of radiologists for emergencies during the day. That depends on the size of the institution. Emergency imaging can be mixed with scheduled examinations, or it can be separated, with dedicated CT or MRI scanners. On nights and weekends there is a radiologist on site or on call for ultrasound, CT and MRI. There also are specific teams for interventional radiology, interventional neuroradiology and paediatric radiology, in the case of a teaching hospital.

ESR: Teamwork is crucial in an emergency department. How is this accomplished in your department and who is involved?
KC: In my department, all radiologists are involved in emergency work as part of their schedule. There is a dedicated CT unit for the emergency department (and two additional CT units for scheduled exams); two conventional x-rays rooms in the emergency department, one each for adults and children; and two ultrasound emergency rooms, one for adults and one for paediatric emergencies. Also, there are dedicated time slots for emergency MRIs.

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This year, the main theme of the International Day of Radiology is emergency radiology. To get some insight into the field, we spoke to Dr. Radu Baz, an associate professor of radiology and head of the radiology department at Clinical County Hospital of Constanta, Romania.

European Society of Radiology: Could you please describe the role of the radiologist in a typical emergency department in your country?
Radu Baz: The radiologist is one of the most important members of emergency-service teams in Romania’s major hospitals. Radiologists here must examine and formulate rapid results for a large number of patients.
Because many emergency hospitals don’t have radiology imaging in emergency departments, radiologists dictate cases from the radiology department on emergency devices. In just one 24-hour period radiologists in our department dictated 220 x-rays, 70 ultrasounds and 45 CTs.

ESR: What does a typical day in the emergency department look like for a radiologist?
RB: Shifts start at 8:00, 14:00 and 20:00. During the morning and afternoon shifts there are three radiologists for conventional radiography, CT and MRI; ultrasound examinations often are conducted by the colleague responsible for conventional radiography. In most emergency hospitals, there are two radiologists on call: one who provides ultrasound and standard radiological assessments, and another for emergency CTs.

Dr. Radu Baz is an associate professor of radiology and head of the radiology department at Clinical County Hospital of Constanta, Romania.

Imaging (e.g. radiographic, CT and MRI) examinations are performed by radiology technicians or nurses, often under the direct supervision of physicians, who prioritise all cases. Physicians perform ultrasound examinations. Images are immediately transmitted to the hospital network for the use of clinicians and emergency physicians. Radiologists interpret images immediately from the x-ray console or from work stations in the reading room. Also, radiologists review complex cases in detail with clinician colleagues to assure proper case management.

ESR: Teamwork is crucial in an emergency department. How is this accomplished in your department and who is involved?
RB: Yes, indeed. Teamwork is essential in an emergency department. Direct and immediate collaboration with radiologists and their clinician colleagues helps us get through difficult cases. There often are situations when we call to ask advice from a radiologist colleague or ask to examine images while collecting clinical data. Also, there often are situations when we simply need to consult with a clinician on a case for a more in-depth approach.

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This year, the main theme of the International Day of Radiology is emergency radiology. To get some insight into the field, we spoke to Swiss radiologist Prof. Pierre-Alexandre Poletti, currently in charge of the emergency radiology unit and vice-chairman of the radiology service at the University Hospital of Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland.

European Society of Radiology: Could you please describe the role of the radiologist in a typical emergency department in your country?
Pierre-Alexandre Poletti: Emergency radiologists in Switzerland adhere to the most appropriate imaging protocols and algorithms for emergency patients to optimise and expedite the radiological management of emergency-department patients in term of quality of care and improvement of workflow.
Also, radiologists have to teach the fundamentals and the specifics of emergency radiology to the radiology residents in the emergency department. They must establish links and close collaborations between the emergency radiology team and the various subspecialties in radiology.

Prof. Pierre-Alexandre Poletti is currently in charge of the emergency radiology unit and vice-chairman of the radiology service at the University Hospital of Geneva in Geneva, Switzerland.

ESR: What does a typical day in the emergency department look like for a radiologist?
PAP: As part of their workflow, emergency radiologists work using various imaging modalities (mainly CT, ultrasound and conventional radiology) chosen to adapt to the specific clinical suspicions of the emergency physician. The senior radiologists supervise the examinations performed by the residents to discuss specific problems they may have. The radiologists participate in multidisciplinary events, such as case presentations, journal clubs, and morbidity and mortality meetings.

ESR: Teamwork is crucial in the emergency department. How is this accomplished in your department and who is involved?
PAP: Representatives of the radiological team have regular meetings with various emergency-team members to address the radiological and clinical-management concerns of emergency patients. Complex problems, such as the optimisation of imaging protocols and algorithms, are referred to small reflection groups, who will meet and return to their colleagues with a proposed solution.

ESR: How satisfied are you with the workflow and your role in your department? How do you think it could be improved?
PAP: Workflow is one of the main problems radiologists face in the emergency room, especially as it relates to CT imaging. Indeed, in our institution, like probably in many other hospitals, the number of CT examinations performed annually has increased by more than 300% (4,500 to 15,000) over a 15-years period, while emergency department admissions have increased only by about 10% during the same period. The satisfaction of emergency radiologists is linked directly to their ability to solve problems associated with this increased workload: long wait times for CT scans; psychological effects of heavy workloads on the radiological team; and disagreement with clinician colleagues regarding patient triage for the scanner. Read more…

This year, the main theme of the International Day of Radiology is emergency radiology. To get some insight into the field, we spoke to Dr. Anton Nosov, MD, head of the radiology department at the Kyiv City Children’s Diagnostic Center in Kyiv, Ukraine

European Society of Radiology: Could you please describe the role of the radiologist in a typical emergency department in your country?
Anton Nosov: In our country, the role of a radiologist in the emergency department depends on situations outside of the hospital. Usually, radiologists are members of a multidisciplinary team, where they provide high quality, timely final readings for patients, which guarantees that decisions are made in consensus.
But everything changes in the case of extreme conditions, such as an unexpected military conflict (as we faced in eastern Ukraine) or other situations with enormous casualties (e.g. technogenic disasters or terrorist attacks). Such situations require rapid decision-making in conditions where there is a shortage of medical staff. In those cases, radiologists must draw quick conclusions directly from CTs or x-rays based on triage priority to ensure the survival of the most patients. This is a difficult job psychologically.

Anton Nosov, MD is a radiologist with a special clinical and research interest in emergency radiology.

ESR: What does a typical day in the emergency department look like for a radiologist?
AN: Of course, in the emergency department we face many cases every day, but the vast majority of them are trauma cases.
Trauma is a tremendous burden for hospitals and healthcare systems, affecting 135 million people worldwide annually. In Ukraine, the majority of these injuries are caused by motor-vehicle accidents, falls from heights and violent altercations.
The most pressing concern of any trauma team is stopping active haemorrhage, which is the most common cause of death in polytrauma patients.
Modern trauma management heavily relies on imaging, particularly CT scans. Most major centres now forego plain x-ray imaging in favour of diagnostic CT, which provides much higher sensitivity and can detect any active extravasation or bleeding. Our evidence suggests that well-timed use of CT increases the chance of survival in polytraumatised patients.

ESR: Teamwork is crucial in the emergency department. How is this accomplished in your department and who is involved?
AN: A multidisciplinary team is the only way to approach complex cases, such as polytrauma. We don’t have a fixed trauma team, but usually such a team consists of an anaesthesiologist, a radiologist, and a trauma surgeon or neurosurgeon. Trauma surgeons often serve as the case managers. The anaesthesiologist initiates ventilation of the patient; the radiologist interprets the imaging studies, and the trauma surgeon manages the case.

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This year, the main theme of the International Day of Radiology is emergency radiology. To get some insight into the field, we spoke to Dr. Elizabeth Dick, BSc, MD, consultant radiologist and honorary senior lecturer at Imperial College London, United Kingdom.

European Society of Radiology: Could you please describe the role of the radiologist in a typical emergency department in your country?
Elizabeth Dick: It varies. In many hospitals, traditional model remains; radiology and emergency departments are distant from each other. There may be one or two consultant radiologists with an interest in emergency imaging who are the ‘go to’ radiologists for the emergency team during the day. After hours, on-call radiologists will be the point of contact, but they are busy with many services, and increasingly may be remote from the hospital they cover.

Dr. Elizabeth Dick, BSc, MD has worked as a consultant radiologist and honorary senior lecturer at Imperial College London since 2002.

Teleradiology often is used to deliver after-hours care, with obvious advantages. The result is an inevitable loss of personal interaction between the radiology and emergency departments. However, set against this traditional model is the ‘gold standard’. Since 2010, a network of major trauma centres was set up across the UK to deliver excellence in trauma care. In these centres, radiologists usually are an integral part of the trauma team, and the CT scanner is usually co-located in the emergency department. This has a ripple effect: Not only is trauma imaging improved, with resulting lower morbidity and mortality, but all emergency patients benefit from a closer relationship between radiologists and the emergency department team.

ESR: What does a typical day in the emergency department look like for a radiologist?
ED: I start my day at 7am by checking all the reports from the night before so that I can speak to the emergency teams as they do their ward rounds at 8am. Our radiology registrars and residents do two, twelve-hour shifts (8am to 8pm), so this is a good opportunity for the on-call registrars to discuss cases they found particularly challenging. Like all hospitals, we perform more imaging examinations each year. On average, there are at least 25 patients who get imaging (mainly CT) overnight, which means a huge responsibility for the radiology registrars on call. Although they may reach out to the duty consultant during their call, for most scans, registrars issue a report based on their own findings. We regularly audit their reports, and the discrepancy rate is very low – probably due to the fact that they strive to work hard to learn. Also, they get a lot of training and support before, during and after being on call.

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MC 622 – Chest emergencies, A-136 A. Thoracic injuries (S.E. Mirvis)

A short preview of lecture A-136 ‘A. Thoracic injuries’, from the session MC 622 ‘Chest emergencies’ at ECR 2014, given by S.E. Mirvis from Baltimore, United States.

Watch the whole lecture and many more at http://ipp.myESR.org
Direct link: http://bit.ly/Chest_emergencies

Friday, March 7, 14:00 – 14:30 / Room F1

Abstract:

Chest trauma is directly responsible for 25 % of all trauma deaths and is a major contributor in another 50 % of all trauma mortality. Blunt trauma, accounting for 90 % of chest injuries, is the third most common site of injury in polytrauma patients. Plain radiographs still have a role in recognition of some acute thoracic pathology that requires immediate further management, either diagnostically and/or therapeutically, such as tension pneumothorax, major transdiaphragmatic herniation, large hemothorax or obvious mediastinal hematoma. MDCT of the chest is now typically included in a whole body scan with IV contrast to facilitate rapid diagnosis on polytrauma cases using less radiation than selected segmental scans. MDCT is the well-proven diagnostic gold standard for chest injury evaluation. The major advantages of MDCT over other modalities include identification of active bleeding, direct signs of trachea or esophageal injury, direct evidence of major arterial vascular injury, such as pseudoanurysms, pneumo and hemopericardium, location and extent of lung contusion and laceration, and assessment for thoracic spine, shoulder girdle and rib fractures. Diaphragm injuries are well depicted by MDCT, especially on the left by identifying both the torn diaphragm edges, herniation and constriction of abdominal contents at the level of the torn diaphragm (collar sign), and direct contact of herniated structures with the posterior chest wall (dependent viscera). Tracheal injuries are suggested by diffuse and progressive pneumomediastinum, dilated tracheostomy cuff, ectopic endotracheal tube, and direct connection of mediastinal air with the trachea lumen. CT-angiography eliminates the majority of indications for diagnostic catheter angiography.

Watch this session on ECR Live: Friday, March 7, room F1
Four separate sessions, starting 08:30, 10:30, 14:00, and 16:00
Tweet #ECR2014F1 #MC422 #MC522 #MC622 #MC722

For the fourth year in a row, the European Society of Radiology (ESR) and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) will hold a joint course on a hot topic in radiology. After oncologic imaging for the past three years, emergency radiology will be under the scope of North American and European radiologists, who will share and compare their experiences in the dedicated Mini Course today at the ECR*.

MDCT is the best modality for identifying lesions as subtle as active mesentric bleeding and infiltration
(arrow) caused by blunt abdominal injury (lap-belt compression). (Provided by András Palkó)

Medical emergencies and trauma are responsible for high levels of morbidity and mortality in all age groups worldwide, and trauma is the leading cause of death in people younger than 45. Consequently, the use of imaging in emergency departments has been increasing exponentially since the 1990s. The demand for CT examinations from emergency departments is, for instance, growing annually by 5% to 15%, depending on the institution.

Even with all the advanced tools imaging has to offer, trauma remains a challenge for most emergency services, according to Ulrich Linsenmaier, associate professor of radiology and head of the department of diagnostic and interventional radiology at KMPP Clinics in Munich, Germany. “Even for advanced level 3 medical centres running their own emergency radiology unit, it is a challenge to integrate advanced radiology services into an interdisciplinary team treating patients with acute traumatic and non-traumatic emergencies,” he said.

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