CT of acute appendicitis: Can diagnostic accuracy serve as a practical performance metric for readers specialized in abdominal imaging?

Lisa L. Chu, Emily M. Webb, Joseph W. Stengel, Benjamin M. Yeh, Ying Lu, Fergus V. Coakley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate diagnostic accuracy for acute appendicitis at computed tomography (CT) as a performance metric for radiologists specialized in abdominal imaging. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively identified six attending abdominal imagers who each independently interpreted over 100 CT studies for suspected acute appendicitis. Results: The mean number of studies per reader was 311 (range, 129-386). Mean reader diagnostic accuracy was 95.0% (range, 91.4-97.1%). Only one had a diagnostic accuracy (91.4%) that was significantly lower than all others. Conclusion: Diagnostic accuracy for acute appendicitis at CT may be an impractical performance metric for radiologists specialized in abdominal imaging.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)56-59
Number of pages4
JournalClinical Imaging
Volume38
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Acute appendicitis
  • Diagnostic accuracy
  • Performance metric
  • Quality assurance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging

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