Replacing Computed Tomography with 'Rapid' Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Ventricular Shunt Imaging

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Introduction: Children with ventricular shunts undergo frequent neuroimaging, and therefore, radiation exposures, to evaluate shunt malfunctions. The objective of this study was to safely reduce radiation exposure in this population by reducing computed tomography (CT) and increasing “rapid” magnetic resonance imaging (rMRI-shunt) among patients warranting neuroimaging for possible shunt malfunction. Methods: This was a single-center quality improvement study in a tertiary care pediatric emergency department (ED). We implemented a multidisciplinary guideline for ED shunt evaluation, which promoted the use of rMRI-shunt over CT. We included patients younger than 18 years undergoing an ED shunt evaluation during 11 months of the preintervention and 25 months of the intervention study periods. The primary outcome was the CT rate, and we evaluated the relevant process and balancing measures. Results: There were 266 encounters preintervention and 488 during the intervention periods with similar neuroimaging rates (80.7% versus 81.5%, P = 0.8.) CT decreased from 90.1% to 34.8% (difference −55.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: −71.1, −25.8), and rMRI-shunt increased from 9.9% to 65.2% (difference 55.3%, 95% CI: 25.8, 71.1) during the preintervention and intervention periods, respectively. There were increases in the mean time to neuroimaging (53.1 min; [95% CI: 41.6, 64.6]) and ED length of stay (LOS) (52.3 min; [95% CI: 36.8, 67.6]), without changes in total neuroimaging, 72-hour revisits, or follow-up neuroimaging. Conclusions: Multidisciplinary implementation of a standardized guideline reduced CT and increased rMRI-shunt use in a pediatric ED setting. Clinicians should balance the reduction in radiation exposure with ED rMRI-shunt for patients with ventricular shunts against the increased time of obtaining imaging and LOS.