Distinct CT imaging features of new liver metastases from primary genitourinary cancers.

PURPOSE: To apply natural language processing (NLP) to a large volume of structured radiology reports in the investigation of CT imaging features of new liver metastases from primary genitourinary cancers. METHODS: In this retrospective study, a previously reported NLP model was applied to consecutive structured CT reports from 2016 to 2022 to predict those patients with primary genitourinary cancer who developed liver metastasis. Pathology or imaging follow-up served as the reference standard for validating NLP predictions. Subsequently, diagnostic CTs of the identified patients were qualitatively assessed by two radiologists, whereby several imaging features of new liver metastasis were assessed. Proportions of the assessed imaging features were compared between primary genitourinary cancers using the Chi-square or Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: In 112 patients (mean age = 72 years; 83 males), the majority of new liver metastases were hypovascular (73.2%), well defined (76.6%), homogenous (66.9%), and without necrotic/cystic component (73.2%). There was a higher proportion of iso- to hyperdense liver metastases for primary kidney cancer vs other primary genitourinary cancers (42.5% in kidney cancer; 2.3% in ureter/bladder cancer, 8% in prostate cancer, and 0% in testicular cancer; p < 0.05) and a higher proportion of new liver metastases with ill-defined margin for primary prostate cancer vs other primary genitourinary cancers (44.0% in prostate cancer, 15.0% in kidney cancer, 18.6% in ureter/bladder cancer, and 25.0% in testicular cancer; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: New liver metastases from primary genitourinary cancers tend to be hypovascular and show several distinct imaging features between different primary genitourinary cancers.

Integrated Automatic Examination Assignment Reduces Radiologist Interruptions: A 2-Year Cohort Study of 232,022 Examinations.

Radiology departments face challenges in delivering timely and accurate imaging reports, especially in high-volume, subspecialized settings. In this retrospective cohort study at a tertiary cancer center, we assessed the efficacy of an Automatic Assignment System (AAS) in improving radiology workflow efficiency by analyzing 232,022 CT examinations over a 12-month period post-implementation and compared it to a historical control period. The AAS was integrated with the hospital-wide scheduling system and set up to automatically prioritize and distribute unreported CT examinations to available radiologists based on upcoming patient appointments, coupled with an email notification system. Following this AAS implementation, despite a 9% rise in CT volume, coupled with a concurrent 8% increase in the number of available radiologists, the mean daily urgent radiology report requests (URR) significantly decreased by 60% (25 ± 12 to 10 ± 5, t = -17.6, p < 0.001), and URR during peak days (95th quantile) was reduced by 52.2% from 46 to 22 requests. Additionally, the mean turnaround time (TAT) for reporting was significantly reduced by 440 min for patients without immediate appointments and by 86 min for those with same-day appointments. Lastly, patient waiting time sampled in one of the outpatient clinics was not negatively affected. These results demonstrate that AAS can substantially decrease workflow interruptions and improve reporting efficiency.

Cytopathologic features of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma including touch imprints for rapid on-site evaluation.

Objectives: Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is a vascular tumor of intermediate malignant potential, which presents as infiltrative lesions involving multiple organs. We reviewed our institutional experience with the cytologic diagnosis of this neoplasm including the performance of rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE). Material and Methods: From our institutional database, we identified 29 cytology specimens, obtained between 2012 and 2020, from 21 patients with biopsy confirmation of EHE. ROSE and final diagnosis were compared. All cytology slides were reviewed, and selected cytologic features were recorded. Results: The cohort included 29 specimens comprising 17 (59%) from liver, 6 (21%) from lung, 2 (7%) from lymph node, and 4 (14%) from other sites. At ROSE, 8/27 (30%) were reported inadequate, yet on review, all cases contained scattered cells typical of EHE in the touch imprint air-dried slides including two cases reported with a final diagnosis of non-diagnostic. All cases contained epithelioid and plasmacytoid cells with ovoid nuclei, fine chromatin, delicate (or biphasic) cytoplasm, and scattered cells with delicate, elongated cytoplasmic tails. The majority 26/29 (90%) of cases had multi-nucleated and multi-lobated nuclei. Intracytoplasmic lumens/blister cells were in 17/29 (59%), and a subset had erythrocytes therein (4/29, 14%). Metachromatic fibromyxoid or fibrotic stroma fragments were commonly seen (23/29, 79%). Mitoses and necrosis were absent in all cases. Of 11 tested cases, WWTR1::CAMTA1 and YAP1::TFE3 fusions were detected in nine and two cases, respectively. Conclusion: EHE has distinctive cytologic features which are often under-recognized during ROSE.

Increased rate of significant findings on brain MRI during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the proportion of abnormal paediatric neuroimaging findings as a surrogate marker for potential underutilisation. METHODS: Consecutive paediatric brain MRIs performed between March 27th and June 19th 2019 (Tbaseline) and March 23rd and June 1st 2020 (Tpandemic) were reviewed and classified according to presence or absence and type of imaging abnormality, and graded regarding severity on a 5-point Likert scale, where grade 4 was defined as abnormal finding requiring non-urgent intervention and grade 5 was defined as acute illness prompting urgent medical intervention. Non-parametric statistical testing was used to assess for significant differences between Tpandemic vs. Tbaseline. RESULTS: Fewer paediatric MRI brains were performed during Tpandemic compared to Tbaseline (12.2 vs 14.7 examinations/day). No significant difference was found between the two time periods regarding sex and age (Tbaseline: 557 females (44.63%), 7.95 ± 5.49 years, Tpandemic: 385 females (44.61%), 7.64 ± 6.11 years; p = 1 and p = .079, respectively). MRI brain examinations during Tpandemic had a higher likelihood of being abnormal, 41.25% vs. 25.32% (p<.0001). Vascular abnormalities were more frequent during Tpandemic (11.01% vs 8.01%, p = .02), congenital malformations were less common (8.34% vs 12.34%, p = .004). Severity of MRI brain examinations was significantly different when comparing group 4 and group 5 individually and combined between Tbaseline and Tpandemic (p = .0018, p < .0001, and p <.0001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The rate of abnormality and severity found on paediatric brain MRI was significantly higher during the early phase of the pandemic, likely due to underutilisation.

Factors Influencing Trainees' Interest in Breast Imaging.

Purpose: To gauge the level of interest in breast imaging (BI) and determine factors impacting trainees' decision to pursue this subspecialty. Methods: Canadian radiology residents and medical students were surveyed from November 2020 to February 2021. Training level, actual vs preferred timing of breast rotations, fellowship choices, perceptions of BI, and how artificial intelligence (AI) will impact BI were collected. Chi-square, Fisher's exact tests and univariate logistic regression were performed to determine the impact of trainees' perceptions on interest in pursuing BI/women's imaging (WI) fellowships. Results: 157 responses from 80 radiology residents and 77 medical students were collected. The top 3 fellowship subspecialties desired by residents were BI/WI (36%), abdominal imaging (35%), and interventional radiology (25%). Twenty-five percent of the medical students were unsure due to lack of exposure. The most common reason that trainees found BI unappealing was repetitiveness (20%), which was associated with lack of interest in BI/WI fellowships (OR = 3.9, 95% CI: 1.6-9.5, P = .002). The most common reason residents found BI appealing was procedures (59%), which was associated with interest in BI/WI fellowships (OR, 3.2, 95% CI, 1.2-8.6, P = .02). Forty percent of residents reported an earlier start of their first breast rotation (PGY1-2) would affect their fellowship choice. Conclusion: This study assessed the current level of Canadian trainees' interest in BI and identified factors that influenced their decisions to pursue BI. Solutions for increased interest include earlier exposure to breast radiology and addressing inadequacies in residency training.

Budget Impact Analysis of Preoperative Radioactive Seed Localization.

BACKGROUND: This study models costs in implementing a radioactive seed localization (RSL) program for nonpalpable breast lesions at a large Canadian tertiary hospital to replace existing wire-guided localization (WGL). METHODS: All direct and indirect operating costs of localization per lesion from the hospital's perspective were determined by retrospectively reviewing patient data and costs from January 2014 to December 2016. A budget impact analysis and sensitivity analysis were performed to calculate the mean cost per lesion, the minimum and maximum cost per lesion, operational costs, and initial costs. RESULTS: There were 265 WGL lesions in 2014 and 170 RSL lesions in 2016 included in cost calculation. The mean cost per localization was $185 CAD for WGL ($148-$311) and $283 CAD ($245-$517) for RSL using preloaded seeds, adjusted to 2016 Canadian dollars. The annual operational expenditure including all localizations and overhead costs was $49,835 for WGL and $80,803 for RSL. Initial costs for RSL were $22,000, including external training and new equipment purchases. CONCLUSIONS: Our budget impact analysis shows that RSL using preloaded radioactive seeds was more expensive than WGL when considering per-lesion localization costs and specific costs related to radiation safety. Manually loading radioactive seed could be a cost-saving alternative to purchasing preloaded seeds. Our breakdown of costs can provide a framework for other centres to determine which localization method best suit their departments.

Adequacy of invasive and in situ breast carcinoma margins in radioactive seed and wire-guided localization lumpectomies.

Image-guided preoperative localizations help surgeons to completely resect nonpalpable breast cancers. The objective of this study is to compare the adequacy of specimen margins for both invasive breast cancer (IBC) and ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) after radioactive seed localization (RSL) vs wire-guided localization (WGL). We retrospectively reviewed 600 cases at a single Canadian academic center from January 2014 to September 2017, comparing surgical margins, re-excisions and reoperations, localization accuracy and major complications (migration, accidental deployment, vasovagal reaction), as well as operative duration between RSL and WGL cases. IBC margins were positive in 7% of RSL and 6% of WGL cases (P = .57). Tumor size (P = .039) and association with DCIS (P = .036) predicted positive margins in invasive carcinoma. DCIS margins were positive in 6% and 8%, and close (≤2 mm) in 37% and 36% of cases (P = .45) for RSL and RSL cases respectively. The presence of extensive intraductal component predicted positive DCIS margins (P < .0001). There was no significant difference between intraoperative re-excisions (P = .54), localization accuracy (P = .34), and operation duration (P = .81). Reoperation for lumpectomies and mastectomies was marginally higher for WGL than RSL (P = .049). There were 11 (4%) WGL and no RSL complications (P = .03). Overall, positive margins for IBC, close or positive margins for DCIS, intraoperative re-excision, localization accuracy, and operation duration were similar between RSL and WGL. The reoperation rate was higher in WGL than RSL, which may reflect practice changes over time. RSL was safer than WGL with lower complication rates.

Reflections as near-peer facilitators of an inquiry project for undergraduate anatomy: Successes and challenges from a term of trial-and-error.

Near-peer facilitators (senior students serving as facilitators to their more junior peers) bring a unique student-based perspective to teaching. With fewer years of teaching experience however, students who become involved in a facilitator role typically develop related skills quickly through a process of trial-and-error within the classroom. The aim of this paper is to report on the authors' own experiences and reflections as student near-peer facilitators for an inquiry-based project in an undergraduate anatomy course. Three areas of the facilitator experience are explored: (1) offering adequate guidance as facilitators of inquiry, (2) motivating students to engage in the inquiry process, and (3) fostering creativity in learning. A practical framework for providing guidance to students is discussed which offers facilitators a scaffold for asking questions and assisting students through the inquiry process. Considerations for stimulating intrinsic motivations toward inquiry learning are made, paying attention to ways in which facilitators might influence feelings of motivation towards learning. Also, the role of creativity in inquiry learning is explored by highlighting the actions facilitators can take to foster a creative learning environment. Finally, recommendations are made for the development of formalized training programs that aid near-peer facilitators in the acquisition of facilitation skills before entering into a process of trial-and-error within the classroom.