The clinical impact of subspecialized radiologist reinterpretation of abdominal imaging studies, with analysis of the types and relative frequency of interpretation discrepancies.

Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to determine the clinical impact and value of abdominal imaging reinterpretations by subspecialized abdominal imagers.

Methods: Secondary interpretations for computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR), and ultrasound (US) abdominal studies performed outside our institution over a 7-month period were retrospectively compared to the primary (outside) interpretation, with interpretive differences recorded. Clinical notes, pathology and subsequent imaging determined ground truth diagnosis and the clinical impact of any interpretive discrepancies were graded as having high, medium, or little/no clinical impact.