A survey on current trends of breast imaging practices in Korea

Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to analyze the current practices of breast imaging among Korean radiologists. Materials and Methods We invited members of the Korean Society of Breast Imaging (KSBI) working as breast radiologists to participate in a survey on the current practices in breast imaging, and investigated how quality assurance (QA), medical audits, and imaging-histologic discordance were conducted. Results The survey involved 312 members of the KSBI, and 116 (37%) responded to the 21 questions in the questionnaire. Most of the respondents were women (87%), aged below 50 years (82.7%), and working at university or tertiary hospitals (68.1%), who had varying levels of experience in breast imaging. Of the 116 respondents, 114 (96.6%) followed the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) to interpret breast imaging. Out of 116, 72 (62.1%) interpreted 20 or more mammograms per day, 84 (72.4%) performed 10–30 breast ultrasound scans per day, and 65 (56%) interpreted fewer than 5 breast MRI scans per day. Among the respondents, 82% performed mammography QA, 76.9% evaluated imaging-histologic correlations, and only 38.9% performed medical audits. Conclusion The institutions and working patterns of breast radiologists were diverse. Although many respondents did not conduct medical audits, most of them followed BI-RADS when interpreting breast imaging, performing QA, and evaluating imaging-histologic correlations.