Interventional radiology emergency service provision for a large UK urban population: initial 3.5 years of experience

Abstract

Aim: To review the activity and impact of an out-of-hours (OOH) interventional radiology service introduced in Glasgow in 2007.

Material and methods: A retrospective review of the first 42 months formal OOH activity across 11 hospital sites covering a population of 1.2 million was undertaken. The 30 day mortality and cause of death was logged for each procedural subtype [nephrostomy, biliary and abscess drainage, enteric stenting, transjugular intrahepatic porto-systemic shunt (TIPS), thoracic endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (TEVAR), endovascular, and embolization].

Results: From October 2007 to March 2011, 502 cases were identified. The mean number of procedures performed per month was 12 (range 5-21). This represents an event rate of 12/100,000 population/year. A minority (11%) of cases were undertaken after midnight. The activity levels were stable over the 42 month study period. The most frequent procedures were percutaneous nephrostomy (32%) and embolization for haemorrhage (30%). Thirty-day mortality was 17% for the entire group but varied from 53% (biliary intervention) to 0% (TEVAR). There was no death following embolization for obstetric haemorrhage. Approximately half of the deaths were due to a failure of the procedure to control the underlying clinical problem.

Conclusion: The demand for OOH services is important but not unduly onerous. There is no evidence of expansion of demand after launching such a service. Mortality rates probably reflect the underlying clinical status of this emergency patient group. Certain procedures carry a high mortality rate, raising issues of clinical judgement, appropriateness of intervention, and/or timing.