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Communication key to avoiding neuroimaging errors, surgeon says
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Clear communication between the radiologist and neuro-ophthalmologist can help avoid the most common errors in neuroimaging, according to Andrew G. Lee, MD.
Dr. Lee said there are two basic types of errors, prescriptive and interpretive, which he also called sins of omission and sins of commission.
The prescriptive sins of omission include failure to prescribe a dedicated study, omission of intravenous contrast, omission of specialized sequences and failure to include clinical information in the order, Dr. Lee said. To avoid these prescriptive errors, Dr. Lee suggested making a clear diagnosis to instruct the radiologist on what to look for and where to look for it. He also suggested personally filling out the clinical information, not leaving it for a technician who might miss something.
The sins of commission are mostly interpretive, Dr. Lee said, such as rejection of a clinical diagnosis if an expected abnormality is absent, or assuming that an imaging problem is the cause of an abnormality.
Dr. Lee said that if there is a question about the scan, the neuro-ophthalmologist should call the radiologist and communicate about the problem.
Dr. Lee will speak about 10 common errors in neuroimaging and how to avoid them at Hawaii 2005, the Royal Hawaiian Eye Meeting, to be held on the island of Hawaii, Jan. 16-21.