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The use of structured reporting of head and neck ultrasound ensures time-efficiency and report quality during residency

  • Head and Neck
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European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Free text reports (FTR) of head and neck ultrasound studies are currently deployed in most departments. Because of a lack of composition and language, these reports vary greatly in terms of quality and reliability. This may impair the learning process during residency. The purpose of the study was to analyze the longitudinal effects of using structured reports (SR) of head and neck ultrasound studies during residency.

Methods

Attending residents (n = 24) of a tripartite course on head and neck ultrasound, accredited by the German Society for Ultrasound in Medicine (DEGUM), were randomly allocated to pictures of common diseases. Both SRs and FTRs were compiled. All reports were analyzed concerning completeness, acquired time and legibility. Overall user contentment was evaluated by a questionnaire.

Results

SRs achieved significantly higher ratings regarding completeness (95.6% vs. 26.4%, p < 0.001), description of pathologies (72.2% vs. 58.9%, p < 0.001) and legibility (100% vs. 52.4%, p < 0.001) with a very high inter-rater reliability (Fleiss’ kappa 0.9). Reports were finalized significantly faster (99.1 s vs. 115.0 s, p < 0.001) and user contentment was significantly better when using SRs (8.3 vs. 6.3, p < 0.001). In particular, only SRs showed a longitudinally increasing time efficiency (− 20.1 s, p = 0.036) while maintaining consistent completeness ratings.

Conclusions

The use of SRs of head and neck ultrasound studies results in an increased longitudinal time-efficiency while upholding the report quality at the same time. This may indicate an additive learning effect of structured reporting. Superior outcomes in terms of comprehensiveness, legibility and time-efficiency can be observed immediately after implementation.

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Abbreviations

FTR:

Free text report

SR:

Structured report

ACI:

Internal carotid artery

ACE:

External carotid artery

GPA:

Parotid gland

GSM:

Submandibular gland

VAS:

Visual analog scale

DEGUM:

German Society for Ultrasound in Medicine

PACS:

Picture archiving and communication system

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Ben Braun for language editing. Additionally, the authors thank the attendees of the 2018 Mainz DEGUM-accredited course on head and neck ultrasound for their participation in this study.

Funding

This research project did not receive any funding.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Medical Center Mainz, Langenbeckstrasse 1, 55131, Mainz, Germany

    Benjamin P. Ernst, Sebastian Strieth, Fabian Katzer, Mohamed Hodeib, Jonas Eckrich, Katharina Bahr, Julian Künzel & Christoph Matthias

  2. Institute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, University Medical Center Mannheim, Medical Faculty Mannheim-Heidelberg University, Theodor-Kutzer-Ufer 1-3, 68167, Mannheim, Germany

    Matthias F. Froelich

  3. Department of Radiology, LMU University Hospital, Marchioninistraße 15, 81377, München, Germany

    Wieland H. Sommer

  4. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Tübingen Medical Center, 72076, Tübingen, Germany

    Sven Becker

  5. Division of Audiology, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany

    Tobias Rader

Authors
  1. Benjamin P. Ernst
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Contributions

BPE and SB contributed to the conception and design of the project and to data collection, analysis and interpretation, and wrote the initial draft of the manuscript. SS, FK, MH, JE, KB, TR, JK, MFF; CM and WHS contributed to the conception and design of the project, as well as the analysis and interpretation. All authors conducted critical revisions of the manuscript, gave final approval to the submitted paper and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Benjamin P. Ernst.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Wieland H. Sommer is the founder of the company Smart Reporting GmbH, which hosts an online platform for structured reporting. Matthias F. Froelich is an employee of Smart Reporting GmbH. The other authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article. This manuscript is part of a medical doctoral thesis presented by Fabian Katzer at the University Mainz Medical School.

Ethical approval on research involving human participants

Ethics approval was obtained by the Institutional Review Board (Ethik-Kommission der Landesärztekammer Rheinland-Pfalz. Reference No: 2018-13225). All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Ernst, B.P., Strieth, S., Katzer, F. et al. The use of structured reporting of head and neck ultrasound ensures time-efficiency and report quality during residency. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 277, 269–276 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05679-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05679-z

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