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The practice of emergency radiology throughout Europe: a survey from the European Society of Emergency Radiology on volume, staffing, equipment, and scheduling

  • Emergency Radiology
  • Published:
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A Correction to this article was published on 08 December 2020

This article has been updated

Abstract

Objectives

To obtain information from radiology departments throughout Europe regarding the practice of emergency radiology

Methods

A survey which comprised of 24 questions was developed and made available online. The questionnaire was sent to 1097 chairs of radiology departments throughout Europe using the ESR database. All data were collected and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics software, version 20 (IBM).

Results

A total of 1097 radiologists were asked to participate, 109 responded to our survey. The response rate was 10%. From our survey, 71.6% of the hospitals had more than 500 beds. Ninety-eight percent of hospitals have an active teaching affiliation. In large trauma centers, emergency radiology was considered a dedicated section. Fifty-three percent of institutions have dedicated emergency radiology sections. Less than 30% had all imaging modalities available. Seventy-nine percent of institutions have 24/7 coverage by staff radiologists. Emergency radiologists interpret cross-sectional body imaging, US scans, and basic CT/MRI neuroimaging in more than 50% of responding institutions. Cardiac imaging examinations/procedures are usually performed by cardiologist in 53% of institutions, while non-cardiac vascular procedures are largely performed and interpreted by interventional radiologists. Most people consider the European Diploma in Emergency Radiology an essential tool to advance the education and the dissemination of information within the specialty of emergency radiology.

Conclusion

Emergency radiologists have an active role in the emergency medical team. Indeed, based upon our survey, they have to interact with emergency physicians and surgeons in the management of critically ill patients. A broad skillset from ultrasonography and basic neuroimaging is required.

Key Points

• At most major trauma centers in Europe, emergency imaging is currently performed by all radiologists in specific units who are designated in the emergency department.

• Radiologists in the emergency section at present have a broad skillset, which includes cross-sectional body imaging, ultrasonography, and basic neuroimaging of the brain and spine.

• A dedicated curriculum that certifies a subspecialty in emergency radiology with a diploma offered by the European Society of Emergency Radiology demonstrates a great interest by the vast majority of the respondents.

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Abbreviations

CT:

Computed tomography

ED:

Emergency department

ER:

Emergency radiology

ESER:

European Society of Emergency Radiology

ESR:

European Society of Radiology

IR:

Interventional radiology

MR:

Magnetic resonance

US:

Ultrasound

XR:

X-ray

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Funding

The authors state that this work has not received any funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK

    Mariano Scaglione & Richard Hartley

  2. School of Health and Life Sciences, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, Tees Valley, UK

    Mariano Scaglione & Richard Hartley

  3. Department of Radiology, Pineta Grande Hospital, Castel Volturno, CE, Italy

    Mariano Scaglione

  4. Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Science, Gabriele D’Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy

    Raffaella Basilico & Andrea Delli Pizzi

  5. Department of General and Emergency Radiology, “Antonio Cardarelli” Hospital, Antonio Cardarelli St 9, 80131, Naples, Italy

    Francesca Iacobellis

  6. Department of Radiology, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, St Mary’s Hospital, London, UK

    Elizabeth Dick & Maureen Dumba

  7. Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Schwarzwald-Baar Hospital, Klinikstr. 11, 78052, Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany

    Stefan Wirth

  8. Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, HELIOS Klinikum Munich West and Munich Perlach, Munich, Germany

    Ulrich Linsenmaier

  9. Radiology Department, Ege University Faculty of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey

    Cem Calli

  10. Department of Medical Imaging, Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, University of Toronto, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON, M4N 3M5, Canada

    Ferco H. Berger

  11. Departement of Radiology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussels (UZ Brussel), Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090, Brussels, Belgium

    Koenraad H. Nieboer

  12. Servicio de Radiodiagnóstico, Sección de Radiología de Urgencias, Hospital G.U. Morales Meseguer, Av. Marqués de los Vélez s/n, 30008, Murcia, Spain

    Ana Blanco Barrio

  13. Department of Radiology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, Piazza Miraglia 2, 80138, Naples, Italy

    Roberto Grassi

  14. Department of Radiology, Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznan, Poland

    Katarzyna Katulska

  15. ERS Emergency Radiology Schueller, 6302, Zug, Switzerland

    Gerd Schueller

  16. Department of Radiology, Hamilton General Hospital, 237 Barton Street East, Hamilton, Ontario, L8L 2X2, Canada

    Michael N. Patlas

  17. Department of Surgical and Medical Sciences and Translational Medicine, “Sapienza” - University of Rome, Sant’Andrea University Hospital, Rome, Italy

    Andrea Laghi

  18. Department of Neuroradiology, “Antonio Cardarelli” Hospital, Antonio Cardarelli St 9, 80131, Naples, Italy

    Mario Muto

  19. Department of Radiology, SUNY-Upstate University and Medical Center, Syracuse, NY, USA

    Refky Nicola

  20. Radiology Department, Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint Joseph, Paris, France

    Marc Zins

  21. Department of Radiology, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi, Florence, Italy

    Vittorio Miele

  22. Department of Radiology, NYU Wintrop Hospital, Mineola, NY, USA

    Douglas S Katz

  23. Department of Health Sciences, Radiology Section, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy

    Lorenzo Derchi

  24. Department of Emergency Radiology, San Martino Policlinico Hospital, Genoa, Italy

    Lorenzo Derchi

Authors
  1. Mariano Scaglione
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  2. Raffaella Basilico
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  3. Andrea Delli Pizzi
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  4. Francesca Iacobellis
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  5. Elizabeth Dick
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  6. Stefan Wirth
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  7. Ulrich Linsenmaier
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  8. Cem Calli
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  9. Ferco H. Berger
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  10. Koenraad H. Nieboer
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  11. Ana Blanco Barrio
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  12. Maureen Dumba
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  13. Roberto Grassi
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  14. Katarzyna Katulska
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  15. Gerd Schueller
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  16. Michael N. Patlas
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  17. Andrea Laghi
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  18. Mario Muto
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  19. Refky Nicola
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  20. Marc Zins
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  21. Vittorio Miele
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  22. Richard Hartley
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  23. Douglas S Katz
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  24. Lorenzo Derchi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Francesca Iacobellis.

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Guarantor

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Prof. Mariano Scaglione.

Conflict of interest

The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.

Statistics and biometry

One of the authors has significant statistical expertise.

Informed consent

Written informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board.

Ethical approval

Institutional Review Board approval was not required because of the nature of the study.

Methodology

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The original online version of this article was revised: The spelling of Michael N. Patlas’ name was incorrect.

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Scaglione, M., Basilico, R., Delli Pizzi, A. et al. The practice of emergency radiology throughout Europe: a survey from the European Society of Emergency Radiology on volume, staffing, equipment, and scheduling. Eur Radiol 31, 2994–3001 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-020-07436-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-020-07436-x

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