American College of Radiology adds 9 new topics to its influential imaging appropriateness criteria
The American College of Radiology has added nine new topics to its influential appropriateness criteria, aimed at helping referrers avoid ordering unnecessary imaging exams.
The newest additions cover conditions including invasive breast cancer, sepsis, and abdominal aortic aneurysm. Following the latest updates, the criteria now include 233 diagnostic and interventional radiology topics with over 1,100 variants pertaining to 3,000-plus clinical scenarios.
“These updates to the ACR Appropriateness Criteria will assist referring physicians and other providers make the most appropriate imaging or treatment decisions for specific clinical conditions,” Mark E. Lockhart, MD, chair of the college committee dedicated to this topic, said in an Oct. 10 announcement.
In addition, the American College of Radiology also released revisions to nine existing topics, including urinary tract infections among children, chronic hand and wrist pain, and management of uterine fibroids.
Expert members of the specialty first created the criteria 30 years ago, and a panel of radiologists reviews them annually to seek out updates or revisions. All nine of the new topics are below. You can find the topic revisions and other information from ACR here.
- Imaging of Invasive Breast Cancer
- Preprocedural Planning for Left Atrial Procedures in Atrial Fibrillation
- Cerebrovascular Diseases-Stroke and Stroke-Related Conditions
- Orbital Imaging and Vision Loss-Child
- Soft Tissue Vascular Anomalies-Vascular Malformations and Infantile Vascular Tumors-Child
- Sepsis
- Workup of Pleural Effusion or Pleural Disease
- Hydronephrosis on Prior Imaging-Unknown Cause
Screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.