ACR releases updated appropriateness criteria

The American College of Radiology (ACR) has released an update to its ACR Appropriateness Criteria.

The update consists of 247 diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology topics and covers 4,000 clinical scenarios, and now includes eight new and 18 revised topics.

New topics comprise the following:

1. Assessment of Cardiac Function and Baseline Cardiac Risk Stratification in Oncology Patients
2. Brain Tumors
3. Evaluation of Coronary Artery Anomalies
4. Imaging for Pulmonary Embolism, Known Clot
5. Imaging of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS)
6. Inflammatory Ear Disease
7. Lung Cancer: Surveillance After Therapy
8. Staging and Follow-up of Anal Cancer

Revised topics include the following:

1. Acute Hip Pain
2. Acute Respiratory Illness in Immunocompetent Patients
3. Acute Shoulder Pain
4. Acute Spinal Trauma
5. Back Pain-Child
6. Cervical Pain or Cervical Radiculopathy
7. Chronic Dyspnea-Noncardiovascular Origin
8. Chylothorax Treatment Planning
9. Colorectal Cancer Screening
10. Dementia
11. Fever Without Source or Unknown Origin-Child
12. Management of Iliac Artery Occlusive Disease
13. Ovarian Cancer Screening
14. Renal Transplant Dysfunction
15. Supplemental Breast Cancer Screening Based on Breast Density
16. Suspected and Known Heart Failure
17. Suspected Primary Bone Tumors
18. Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm or Dissection-Treatment Planning and Follow-Up

The guidelines are reviewed annually, the ACR said