ABSTRACT
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Use of a turkey-breast phantom for developing freehand ultrasound (US)-guided core-needle biopsy skills was evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen diagnostic radiology trainees with varied experience in freehand US-guided breast core-needle biopsy were given instruction and allowed to practice the technique in a turkey-breast phantom. Three attempts were made before and after instruction and practice, and a questionnaire regarding experience, confidence, and anxiety was administered after these attempts. Technique, accuracy, and completion time were evaluated. RESULTS: Confidence related to procedure performance increased (P < .01), but the change in anxiety was not statistically significant. Accuracy improved, with the target being obtained in 87% of passes performed after instruction and practice versus 56% initially. Difficulty with visualizing the core needle sonographically during phantom biopsy decreased from 49% to 5% of attempts. Needle positioning perpendicular to the chest wall was observed initially in 38% of passes but was not observed after instruction and practice. There was no statistically significant change in time to complete biopsy. CONCLUSION: For teaching US-guided breast core-needle biopsy, use of a turkey-breast phantom helps improve technique, accuracy, and confidence of diagnostic radiology trainees.
Subject(s)
Biopsy, Needle/methods , Breast/pathology , Teaching/methods , Ultrasonography, Interventional , Animals , Fellowships and Scholarships , Humans , Internship and Residency , Meat , Radiology/education , TurkeysABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to provide more information to diagnostic radiologists regarding claims, compensation, and patient injury in medical malpractice cases. Malpractice cases filed against the U.S. government were reviewed. The most common claim was misdiagnosis of a malignancy (30% of the cases); in these cases the claimants received relatively high compensation. Most of these cases involved failure to diagnose lung carcinomas on chest radiographs and failure to diagnose colon carcinomas on barium enema studies. The findings emphasize the importance of having the members of a radiology department, regardless of professional level, work together as a team.