What does incidental mean in MRI?
Incidental findings are previously undetected abnormalities of potential clinical relevance that are unexpectedly discovered and unrelated to the purpose of the examination.
How common are incidental findings on CT?
Incidentalomas were defined differently across the systematic reviews. CT of the chest resulted in incidentalomas reported in 45% of patients (95% confidence interval [CI], 36% to 55%). The relatively new CT colonoscopy resulted in incidental findings in 38% of patients (21% to 57%).
What is an incidental diagnosis?
An incidental finding is something extra found by the test. It’s something not related to the reason your doctor ordered the test. For example, a doctor may order a CT scan of your chest to look for a blood clot. There may or may not be a blood clot, but the picture also shows a small growth in your lung.
What is an incidental finding in research?
Definition of Incidental Findings In contrast to the return of general or individual study results to subjects, incidental findings are discoveries of individual-level findings that are unrelated to the goals of the study.
Are incidental findings serious?
Conclusions. While previous research suggests that CT incidental findings are often benign, reporting to patients is recommended but this is rarely happening.
How common are incidental findings?
Should a radiologist report an incidental finding?
It is inappropriate to report an incidental finding found on a radiology report when the finding is unrelated to the sign, symptom, or condition that necessitated the performance of the test for a patient being seen.
Do doctors have to disclose incidental findings?
Because investigators have an obligation of appropriate disclosure of incidental findings that are detected in the course of research, the resources necessary to fulfill this duty should be expended.
What is the most common incidental findings?
Abdomen/pelvis scans had the highest rate of incidental findings at 56.3% (Figure 1). There were a total of 348 incidental findings identified using finalized CT reports. Of these, 34 were disclosed to patients in the discharge paperwork (9.8%).