Impact of software-assisted structured reporting on radiology residents approaching prostate MRI

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the potential advantages of software-assisted structured reporting for radiology residents approaching multiparametric prostate MRI (mpMRI).

Methods: MpMRI scans from 100 patients, performed for prostate cancer (PCa) detection or staging, were anonymized, and reviewed by six second-year radiology residents without previous experience in prostate MRI, following 6 h of intensive training. The dataset was split into two subsets of 50 cases each. All residents were asked to report scans from the first subset using a basic text processor (narrative reports -NR-). For the second subset, one group used a dedicated software to produce structured reports (SR) while the other continued with NR. Report completeness was assessed using a PI-RADS-based checklist, and statistical analyses, including Wilcoxon rank sum and Pearson's Chi-squared tests, were performed to compare word count, reporting time, and concordance with an expert radiologist's findings.

Results: All readers adopting SR in the second batch demonstrated a significant increase in word count and a decrease in reporting time compared to the first batch. Image quality and final impressions were missing from all NR, while gland size, lesion description, and PI-RADS score were consistently included in nearly all reports (96-100 %). One of the three residents using SR showed a statistically significant improvement in concordance with the expert radiologist on index lesion location and clinically significant PCa presence (p = 0.001), while the other two exhibited positive trends (p = 0.061-0.078).

Conclusions: The adoption of SR allowed radiology residents to decrease their reporting time and improve the comprehensiveness of their reports, while increasing concordance with an expert radiologist.

Keywords: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Prostate cancer; Report; Standardization.