Clinical Image Evaluation of Film Mammograms in Korea: Comparison with the ACR Standard.
10.3348/kjr.2013.14.5.701
- Author:
Yeon Joo GWAK
1
;
Hye Jung KIM
;
Jin Young KWAK
;
Eun Ju SON
;
Kyung Hee KO
;
Jin Hwa LEE
;
Hyo Soon LIM
;
You Jin LEE
;
Ji Won PARK
;
Kyung Min SHIN
;
Yun Jin JANG
Author Information
1. Department of Radiology, Kyungpook National University Medical Center, Daegu 702-210, Korea. mamrad@knu.ac.kr
- Publication Type:Original Article ; Comparative Study
- Keywords:
Mammography;
Quality assurance;
Accreditation;
Breast
- MeSH:
Accreditation/*standards;
Female;
Humans;
Mammography/*standards;
*Quality Improvement;
ROC Curve;
Republic of Korea;
Retrospective Studies
- From:Korean Journal of Radiology
2013;14(5):701-710
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to compare the overall quality of film mammograms taken according to the Korean standards with the American College of Radiology (ACR) standard for clinical image evaluation and to identify means of improving mammography quality in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four hundred and sixty eight sets of film mammograms were evaluated with respect to the Korean and ACR standards for clinical image evaluation. The pass and failure rates of mammograms were compared by medical facility types. Average scores in each category of the two standards were evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to identify an optimal Korean standard pass mark by taking the ACR standard as the reference standard. RESULTS: 93.6% (438/468) of mammograms passed the Korean standard, whereas only 80.1% (375/468) passed the ACR standard (p < 0.001). Non-radiologic private clinics had the lowest pass rate (88.1%: Korean standard, 71.8%: ACR standard) and the lowest total score (76.0) by the Korean standard. Average scores of positioning were lowest (19.3/29 by the Korean standard and 3.7/5 by the ACR standard). A cutoff score of 77.0 for the Korean standard was found to correspond to a pass level when the ACR standard was applied. CONCLUSION: We suggest that tighter regulations, such as, raising the Korean pass mark, subtracting more for severe deficiencies, or considering a very low scores in even a single category as failure, are needed to improve the quality of mammography in Korea.
