American Society of Nuclear Cardiology consensus statement: Reporting of radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging studies
Section snippets
Preamble
Although clear and effective guidelines have been published regarding the optimal practice for nuclear cardiology procedures, including reporting, the Writing Group believed that it was important to specifically identify the critical factors involved in effective reporting and provide this information so that it may serve as a standard for all nuclear cardiology laboratories. Information regarding reporting has been collated from a number of sources, some of which provide extensive and
Components of report
The individual components of the report include the indications for the procedure, clinical history, procedure, findings, and impression. Although individual laboratory and practitioner variability may be present with regard to how these fields are constructed, each of the specific areas contains vital information that should be part of the final report. Each section of the report will be examined individually.
Structured reporting
ASNC supports the development of structured reporting for myocardial perfusion imaging. It is anticipated that many of the components of a final report as outlined in this Consensus Statement will be included as part of the data elements for structured reporting.
A DICOM subcommittee specifically dealing with this issue is presently delineating the critical fields. All key organizations and societies are working with instrumentation manufacturers in the development of structured reporting.
Conclusions
In summary, ASNC is strongly in favor of the standardization of myocardial perfusion imaging reports. Furthermore, we encourage clarity and clinically relevant conclusions. Finally, the report should contain adequate information to support the medical necessity of the procedure.1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Acknowledgment
The authors have indicated they have no financial conflicts of interest.
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Cited by (0)
Published in the November/December 2003 issue of the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology.