Are Lung Imaging Reporting and Data System Categories Clear to Radiologists? A Survey of the Korean Society of Thoracic Radiology Members on Ten Difficult-to-Classify Scenarios.
10.3348/kjr.2017.18.2.402
- Author:
Dae Hee HAN
1
;
Jin Mo GOO
;
Semin CHONG
;
Myeong Im AHN
Author Information
1. Department of Radiology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul 06591, Korea.
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Questionnaires;
Pulmonary nodule;
Screening;
Lung-RADS
- MeSH:
Consensus;
Information Systems*;
Lung Neoplasms;
Lung*;
Mass Screening;
Surveys and Questionnaires;
Thorax
- From:Korean Journal of Radiology
2017;18(2):402-407
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate possible variability in chest radiologists' interpretations of the Lung Imaging Reporting and Data System (Lung-RADS) on difficult-to-classify scenarios. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten scenarios of difficult-to-classify imaginary lung nodules were prepared as an online survey that targeted Korean Society of Thoracic Radiology members. In each question, a description was provided of the size, consistency, and interval change (new or growing) of a lung nodule observed using annual repeat computed tomography, and the respondent was instructed to choose one answer from five choices: category 2, 3, 4A, or 4B, or “un-categorizable.” Consensus answers were established by members of the Korean Imaging Study Group for Lung Cancer. RESULTS: Of the 420 answers from 42 respondents (excluding multiple submissions), 310 (73.8%) agreed with the consensus answers; eleven (26.2%) respondents agreed with the consensus answers to six or fewer questions. Assigning the imaginary nodules to categories higher than the consensus answer was more frequent (16.0%) than assigning them to lower categories (5.5%), and the agreement rate was below 50% for two scenarios. CONCLUSION: When given difficult-to-classify scenarios, chest radiologists showed large variability in their interpretations of the Lung-RADS categories, with high frequencies of disagreement in some specific scenarios.
