RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To study patients who presented to the Emergency Department with acute renal colic to determine if resolution of hydronephrosis and pain accurately predicts stone passage on follow-up CT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of a multicenter prospective randomized clinical trial of patients diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) scan with a symptomatic ureteral stone < 9 mm in diameter. Participants were followed after randomization to evaluate for analgesic use and to assess stone passage and hydronephrosis on a repeat CT scan obtained at 29-36 days. RESULTS: Four-hundred-three patients were randomized in the original study and patients were included in this analysis if they did not have surgery for stone removal and had a CT scan and information on pain medication at follow-up (N = 220). Hydronephrosis was detected in 181 (82%) on initial CT. At follow-up CT, 43 (20%) participants had a persistent ureteral stone. Of these patients, 36 (84%) had no pain, 26 (60%) did not have hydronephrosis, and 23 (53%) had neither pain nor hydronephrosis. Resolution of hydronephrosis was associated with stone passage (RR 4.6, 95% CI 1.9, 11.0), while resolution of pain was not (RR 1.1, 95% CI 0.9, 1.4). CONCLUSION: In patients with urinary stone disease, stone passage is associated with resolution of hydronephrosis but not resolution of pain. In patients with persistent ureteral stones, neither pain nor hydronephrosis are consistently present. These findings have important implications on follow-up imaging of patients with urinary stone disease.
Assuntos
Hidronefrose/etiologia , Cólica Renal/etiologia , Tomografia Computadorizada por Raios X , Cálculos Ureterais/complicações , Cálculos Ureterais/diagnóstico por imagem , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Prognóstico , Estudos ProspectivosRESUMO
The appropriate selection and accurate interpretation of diagnostic imaging is a crucial skill for emergency practitioners. To date, the majority of the published literature and research on competency assessment comes from the subspecialty of point-of-care ultrasound. A group of radiologists, physicists, and emergency physicians convened at the 2015 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference to discuss and prioritize a research agenda related to education, assessment, and competency in ordering and interpreting diagnostic imaging. A set of questions for the continued development of an educational curriculum on diagnostic imaging for trainees and competency assessment using specific assessment methods based on current best practices was delineated. The research priorities were developed through an iterative consensus-driven process using a modified nominal group technique that culminated in an in-person breakout session. The four recommendations are: 1) develop a diagnostic imaging curriculum for emergency medicine (EM) residency training; 2) develop, study, and validate tools to assess competency in diagnostic imaging interpretation; 3) evaluate the role of simulation in education, assessment, and competency measures for diagnostic imaging; 4) study is needed regarding the American College of Radiology Appropriateness Criteria, an evidence-based peer-reviewed resource in determining the use of diagnostic imaging, to maximize its value in EM. In this article, the authors review the supporting reliability and validity evidence and make specific recommendations for future research on the education, competency, and assessment of learning diagnostic imaging.