The impact of an electronic clinical decision support for pulmonary embolism imaging on the efficiency of computed tomography pulmonary angiography utilisation in a resource-limited setting
Date
2016-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Health & Medical Publishing Group
Abstract
ENGLISH SUMMARY : Background. Pulmonary embolism (PE) is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Effective intervention requires prompt diagnosis. Computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is sensitive and specific for PE and is the investigation of choice. Inappropriate CTPA utilisation results in unnecessary high radiation exposure and is costly. Stateoftheart electronic radiology workflow can provide clinical decision support (CDS) for specialised imaging requests, but there has been limited work on the clinical impact of CDS in PE, particularly in resourceconstrained environments.
Objective. To determine the impact of an electronic CDS for PE on the efficiency of CTPA utilisation in a resourcelimited setting. Methods. In preparation, a PE diagnostic algorithm was distributed to hospital clinicians, explaining the combined role of the validated modified Wells score and the quantitative Ddimer test in defining the pretest probability of PE. Thereafter, an automated, electronic CDS was introduced for all CTPA requests. Total CTPA referrals and the proportion positive for PE were assessed for three study phases: (i) pre diagnostic algorithm; (ii) postalgorithm, preCDS; and (iii) postCDS.
Results. The proportion of CTPAs positive for PE after CDS implementation was almost double that prior to introduction of the diagnostic algorithm (phase 1 v. 3, 17.4% v. 30.7%; p=0.036), with a correspondingly significant decrease in the proportion of nonpositive CTPAs (phases 1 v. 3, 82.6% v. 69.3%; p=0.015) During phases 2 and 3, no CTPAs were requested for patients with a modified Wells score of ≤4 and a documented negative Ddimer, indicating adherence to the algorithm.
Conclusion. Implementing an electronic CDS for PE significantly increased the efficiency of CTPA utilisation and significantly decreased the proportion of inappropriate scans.
Description
CITATION: Murthy, C. et al. 2016. The impact of an electronic clinical decision support for pulmonary embolism imaging on the efficiency of computed tomography pulmonary angiography utilisation in a resource-limited setting. South African Medical Journal, 106(1):62-64, doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2016.v106i1.9886.
The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.za
The original publication is available at http://www.samj.org.za
Keywords
Medical radiology, Diagnostic imaging, Pulmonary embolism, Respiratory system -- Tomography, Angiography
Citation
Murthy, C. et al. 2016. The impact of an electronic clinical decision support for pulmonary embolism imaging on the efficiency of computed tomography pulmonary angiography utilisation in a resource-limited setting. South African Medical Journal, 106(1):62-64, doi:10.7196/SAMJ.2016.v106i1.9886.