Radiology in public focus

Novel CT Exam Reduces Need for Invasive Artery Treatment

A study showed that a non-invasive imaging test can help identify patients with coronary artery blockage or narrowing who need a revascularization procedure. The findings were published as a Special Report in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.

Mangun Kaur Randhawa, MD, a post-doctoral research fellow in the Department of Radiology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study of patients who underwent coronary CTA at MGH between August 2020 and August 2021.

Out of 284 patients, 160 had a negative CT-FFR result, 88 patients had a clearly positive result, and the remaining 36 patients had a borderline result. Patients with significant narrowing/blockages on coronary CTA who underwent CT-FFR had lower rates of invasive coronary angiography and subsequent percutaneous coronary intervention than patients who were not referred for a CT-FFR.

“CT-FFR helps us identify patients who would most benefit from undergoing invasive procedures and to defer stenting or surgical treatment in patients who likely won’t,” said senior author Brian B. Ghoshhajra, MD, MBA, associate chair for operations and academic chief of cardiovascular imaging at MGH

Read the related RSNA News story, “Novel CT Exam Reduces Need for Invasive Artery Treatment.”

GPT-4 Matches Radiologists in Detecting Errors in Radiology Reports

Large language model GPT-4 matched the performance of radiologists in detecting errors in radiology reports, according to research published in Radiology.

To assess GPT-4’s effectiveness in identifying common errors in radiology reports, lead author Roman J. Gertz, MD, resident in the Department of Radiology at University Hospital of Cologne in Germany, and colleagues gathered 200 radiology reports from between June 2023 and December 2023 at a single institution.

They intentionally inserted 150 errors from five error categories into 100 of the reports. Six radiologists and GPT-4 were tasked with detecting these errors.

In the overall analysis, GPT-4 detected fewer errors than the best performing senior radiologist. However, there was no evidence of a difference in the percentage of average performance in error detection rate between GPT-4 and all the other radiologists.

“Ultimately, our research provides a concrete example of how AI, specifically through applications like GPT-4, can revolutionize health care by boosting efficiency, minimizing errors and ensuring broader access to reliable, affordable diagnostic services—fundamental steps toward improving patient care outcomes,” Dr. Gertz said.

Read the related RSNA News story, “GPT-4 Matches Radiologists in Detective Errors in Radiology Reports.”

Cardiac Impairments Found in Asymptomatic People with HIV

A study in Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging found increased coronary vessel wall thickness that was significantly associated with impaired diastolic function in asymptomatic, middle-aged individuals living with HIV.

The researchers assessed early coronary atherosclerosis burden and its relation to heart function in people living with HIV who were asymptomatic and had low cardiovascular disease risk. They recruited 74 adults living with HIV without known cardiovascular disease and 25 matched healthy controls who were negative for HIV and were required to have no known significant medical conditions, including coronary disease. All underwent MRI to measure coronary vessel wall thickness and an echocardiogram to assess left ventricular function.

The results showed increased coronary vessel wall thickness in the HIV group, compared to controls. The increased coronary artery vessel wall thickness was independently associated with elevated left ventricular mass index and impaired diastolic function.

Coronary artery vessel wall thickness was also associated with the duration of exposure to didanosine, one of the medications used in combination with other drugs for the treatment of HIV.

“This research shows the impact of HIV on developing subtle subclinical coronary artery disease and its effects on heart function,” said lead author Khaled Z. Abd-Elmoniem, PhD, MHS, staff scientist in NIDDK’s Biomedical and Metabolic Imaging Branch.

Read the related RSNA News story, “Cardiac Impairments Found in Asymptomatic People with HIV.”