Purpose: This study investigated the effectiveness of assistive work of radiological technologists (RTs) in conducting computed tomography (CT)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during emergencies.
Methods: In total, 2681 examinations in 2294 patients who underwent CT or MRI during our after-hours clinic hours were conducted. The emergency of the diseases was classified into three categories: emergency diseases, semi-emergency diseases, and non-emergency diseases. The reading report of the RTs group, resident physicians (RPs) group, and senior physicians (SPs) group were used to calculate the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy.
Results: The RTs group had an accuracy of 87.0% for emergency and semi-emergency diseases. The sensitivity of the combined RTs/RPs/SPs group was higher than that of the RPs and SPs group alone.
Conclusion: After-hours help from RTs for emergency and semi-emergency diseases enhanced sensitivity and thus demonstrated the effectiveness in emergency care.
Keywords: diagnostic accuracy; diagnostic imaging in the emergency; radiological technologist; reading assistance for radiological diagnosis; urgent findings.