Getting the most out of RADPEER™.

RADPEER™ is a quality assessment and improvement product developed and marketed by the ACR. Although the program has been available since 2002 and the scoring system was revised in 2009, the ACR allows considerable flexibility in its implementation. Although that flexibility supports the local needs of radiology groups using the program, it also may lead to suboptimal implementation of the program and may limit the usefulness of the data obtained.

RADPEER scoring white paper.

The ACR's RADPEER program began in 2002; the electronic version, e-RADPEER, was offered in 2005. To date, more than 10,000 radiologists and more than 800 groups are participating in the program. Since the inception of RADPEER, there have been continuing discussions regarding a number of issues, including the scoring system, the subspecialty-specific subcategorization of data collected for each imaging modality, and the validation of interfacility scoring consistency.

Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of hemivertebrae: associations and outcomes.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate associated anomalies and outcomes of fetuses with prenatally diagnosed hemivertebrae.

Methods: Fetuses with prenatally diagnosed hemivertebrae, excluding those associated with spina bifida, were identified by searching the prospectively maintained ultrasound databases of 4 institutions from 1997 to August 2007. Associated birth defects were tabulated by organ system and hemivertebra location.

Two- and three-dimensional prenatal sonographic diagnosis of hepatic cysts.

We describe the 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional multiplanar sonographic diagnosis and characterization of isolated hepatic cysts in 2 fetuses. Two-dimensional imaging of a fetus at 36 weeks' gestation revealed 2 right upper quadrant cystic masses anterior to the gallbladder, demonstrating no peristalsis or blood flow. Postnatal sonographic examination confirmed 2 simple hepatic cysts.