Reducing Intravenous Contrast Utilization for CT: A Health System-Wide Intervention With Sustained Impact.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the volume of intravenous iodinated contrast media used for CT before, during, and after the global iohexol shortage over a total of 17 months at a multisite health system. METHODS: This retrospective study included all patients who underwent CT at a large health system with 12 sites. Standardized contrast doses for 13 CT examinations were implemented May 23, 2022. Mean contrast utilization per CT encounter was compared between three periods (preintervention: January 1, 2022, to May 22, 2022; intervention: May 23, 2022, to September 11, 2022; postintervention: September 12, 2022, to June 30, 2023). Contrast doses and CT encounter data were extracted from the enterprise data warehouse. Categorical variables were compared with a χ2 test, and continuous variables were compared with a two-tailed t test. Multivariable linear regression assessed significance, with coefficients noted to determine magnitude and direction of effect. RESULTS: Preintervention, there were 152,009 examinations (87,722 with contrast [57.7%]); during the intervention, there were 120,031 examinations (63,217 with contrast [52.7%]); and during the postintervention, there were 341,862 examinations (194,231 with contrast [56.8%]). Preintervention, mean contrast dose was 89.3 mL per examination, which decreased to 78.0 mL after standardization (Δ of -12.7%) (P < .001). This decrease continued throughout the intervention and persisted in the postintervention period (80.4 mL; Δ -10.0%, P < .001). On multivariable analysis, patient weight, sex, and performing site were all associated with variations in contrast dose. Most but not all sites (9 of 12) sustained the decreased contrast media dose in the postintervention period. DISCUSSION: Implementing standardized contrast media dosing for commonly performed CT examinations led to a rapid decrease in contrast media utilization, which persisted over 1 year.

Combining magnetic resonance imaging with a multi-ancestry polygenic risk score to improve identification of clinically significant prostate cancer.

Multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI) has emerged as an important tool for identifying clinically significant prostate cancer. We examined if the addition of a 400-variant multi-ancestry polygenic risk score (PRS) to mpMRI has the potential to improve identification. Based on data from 24 617 men from the Mass General Brigham Biobank, we identified 1243 men who underwent mpMRI. Men in the top PRS quartile were more likely to have clinically significant prostate cancer (47.1% vs 28.6% in the bottom PRS quartile, adjusted relative proportion 1.72 [95% CI = 1.35 to 2.19]). Both among men with a positive and a negative mpMRI, men in the top PRS quartile had the highest frequency of clinically significant cancer. In a constructed scenario for selecting men to undergo biopsy, use of the PRS lowered the frequency of missed clinically significant cancers from 9.1% to 5.9%. Our study provides initial support for using the PRS to improve identification of potentially lethal prostate cancer.

CT Pulmonary Angiogram Clinical Pretest Probability Tool: Impact on Emergency Department Utilization.

OBJECTIVE: Currently, computed tomographic pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) for evaluating acute pulmonary embolism (PE) in Emergency Departments (EDs) is overused and with low yields. The goal of this study is to assess the impact of an evidence-based clinical decision support (CDS) tool, aimed at optimizing appropriate use of CTPA for evaluating PE. METHODS: The study was performed at EDs in a large healthcare system and included 9 academic and community hospitals. The primary outcome was the percent difference in utilization (number of CTPA performed/number of ED visits) and secondary outcome was yield (percentage of CTPA positive for acute PE), comparing 12 months before (6/1/2021-5/31/2022) vs. 12 months after (6/1/2022-5/31/2023) a system-wide implementation of the CDS. Univariate and multivariable analyses using logistic regression were performed to assess factors associated with diagnosis of acute PE. Statistical process control (SPC) charts were used to assess monthly trends in utilization and yield. RESULTS: Among 931,677 visits to Emergency Departments, 28,101 CTPAs were performed on 24,675 patients. 14,825 CTPAs were performed among 455,038 visits (3.26%) pre-intervention; 13,276 among 476,639 visits (2.79%) post-intervention, a 14.51% relative decrease in CTPA utilization (chi-square, p<0.001). CTPA yield remained unchanged (1371/14825=9.25% pre- vs. 1184/13276=8.92% post-intervention; chi-square, p=0.34). Patients with COVID diagnosis prior to CTPA had higher probability of acute PE. SPC charts demonstrated seasonal variation in utilization (Friedman test, p=0.047). DISCUSSION: Implementing a CDS based on validated decision rules was associated with a significant reduction in CTPA utilization. The change was immediate and sustained for 12 months post-intervention.