Abstract
INTRODUCTION: According to the ALARA principle, CT-imaging procedures should be implemented to optimize radiation doses. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a quality control process has an impact on compliance with procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was conducted in three hospitals, focusing on the selection of the appropriate acquisition protocol and the reduction of acquisition height in abdominal computed tomography (CT) examinations performed to diagnose or rule out urolithiasis. A first audit was conducted to measure the compliance with the procedure. Next, a reminder of the CT-urolithiasis procedure was given to stakeholders. Three months later, a second audit was conducted to measure the impact of the repeat recall information on compliance, and to compare the outcome with an earlier audit conducted five years earlier. RESULTS: We included 517 'urolithiasis CT examinations'. The compliance ranged from 41.67% to 64.8% for the first audit. After the reminder of the urolithiasis procedure, compliance ranged from 50% to 76.10%. This improvement was statistically significant for hospital A and B (p < 0.001 for hospital A, p = 0.013 for hospital B) but not for hospital C (p = 0.405). Despite prior demonstration that improved compliance persisted at one year from an initial audit, our actual data show that this compliance had decreased at year five, confirming the need to repeat compliance audits more frequently, or to monitor it continuously. CONCLUSION: Surveying compliance to procedures can improve compliance but only for a limited duration. Monitoring compliance more frequently or even continuously is recommended.