Discrepancy Rates of Radiology Resident Interpretations of On-Call Neuroradiology MR Imaging Studies

Purpose: To determine the discrepancy rates of radiology residents interpreting emergent neuroradiology magnetic resonance (MR) imaging studies and to assess any adverse clinical outcomes. Materials and Methods: Three hundred sixty-one brain and spine MR imaging and MR angiographic examinations that were ordered emergently after hours and given preliminary interpretations by radiology residents were retrospectively reviewed from December 1, 2006 to May 31, 2007 with institutional review board approval. Discrepancies between the interpretations of radiology residents and the final reports of attending neuroradiologists were classified as either false-negative (FN, failure to recognize abnormalities) or false-positive (FP, misinterpreting normal images as abnormal). Discrepancies that could affect patient care or clinical outcome were considered major. Results: Overall, the agreement rate was 92.8%, the overall discrepancy rate was 7.2%, the major disagreement rate was 4.2%, and the minor disagreement rate ...