Assessment of Reason for Exam Imaging Reporting and Data System (RI-RADS) in inpatient diagnostic imaging referrals

Abstract

Abstract Objectives To test the Reason for Exam Imaging Reporting and Data System (RI-RADS) in assessing the quality of radiology requests in an Italian cohort of inpatients; to evaluate the interobserver reliability of RI-RADS. Methods A single-center quality care study was designed to retrospectively identify consecutive radiology request forms for computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and conventional radiography examinations. One radiologist scored the requests using the RI-RADS. The association between RI-RADS and clinical request variables (urgent request, on-call requests, indication for imaging, requesting specialty, imaging modality, and body region) was evaluated. We calculated interobserver agreement between four readers in a subset of 450 requests. Results We included 762 imaging requests. RI-RADS grades A (adequate request), B (barely adequate request), C (considerably limited request), D (deficient request), and X were assigned to 8 (1%), 49 (7%), 237 (31%), 404 (53%), and 64 (8%) of cases, respectively. In the multivariate analysis, the indication for imaging, body region, and requesting specialty significantly influenced the RI-RADS. Indications for imaging with a high risk of poor RI-RADS grade were routine preoperative imaging and device check requests. The upper extremity was the body region with the highest risk of poor RI-RADS grade. Requesting specialties with a high risk of poor RI-RADS grade were cardiovascular surgery, intensive care medicine, and orthopedics. The analysis of the interobserver agreement revealed substantial agreement for the RI-RADS grade. Conclusion The majority of radiology exam requests were inadequate according to RI-RADS, especially those for routine imaging. RI-RADS demonstrated substantial reliability, suggesting that it can be satisfactorily employed in clinical settings. Critical relevant statement The implementation of RI-RADS can provide a framework for standardizing radiology requests, thereby enabling quality assurance and promoting a culture of quality improvement. Key Points RI-RADS aims to grade the completeness of radiology requests. Over half of the imaging requests were RI-RADS D grade; RI-RADS demonstrated substantial reliability. Most radiology requests were inadequate and RI-RADS could classify them in clinical practice. Graphical Abstract

Keywords

• Practice guidelines
• Referral and consultation
• Reliability and validity
• Diagnostic imaging
• Radiology