AUDIT OF CT PULMONARY ANGIOGRAM TURN-AROUND TIME

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the international standard recommendations of reporting CTPA are being followed in Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, Pakistan, to identify areas of weakness and give suggestions for improvement. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed during a six month period from January 2010 to June 2010 in the radiology department of SKMCH&RC. The study included 20 admitted patients who underwent CTPA during this period. Data was analyzed to evaluate whether the international standard recommendations of CTPA turn-around time were being followed at SKMCH&RC. Areas of improvement were identified and proposals for betterment were given. Re-audit after implementation has been suggested. RESULT: Average Request-to-Scan time was 3 hour and 13 min, compared to the recommended standard of 24 hours for non-massive Pulmonary Embolism (PE) and 1 hour for massive PE. (Half of the reported cases were non-massive and rest were un-specified) Average Scan-to-Report time was 34 min, compared to recommended standard of 30 min for CT done in acute emergency situations. There was 1 case which crossed the 24 hour limit of recommended standard for request-to-scan time and 9 cases which exceeded the 30 min limit for reporting. CONCLUSION: The audit shows that despite having no documented protocol of CTPA turn-around time at SKMCH&RC, the average time intervals of physician s request to scan and scan to report come very close to the international standard protocol. Key Words: Medical audit, CTPA, Pulmonary Embolism, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre