PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Pinto, Patrícia
AU  - Valentin, Lil
AU  - Borčinová, Martina
AU  - Wiesnerová, Markéta
AU  - Filip, Fruhauf
AU  - Burgetova, Andrea
AU  - Masek, Martin
AU  - Lambert, Lukas
AU  - Chiappa, Valentina
AU  - Franchi, Dorella
AU  - Testa, Antonia Carla
AU  - Moro, Francesca
AU  - Avesani, Giacomo
AU  - Panico, Camilla
AU  - Alessi, Sarah
AU  - Pricolo, Paola
AU  - Vigorito, Raffaella
AU  - Calareso, Giuseppina
AU  - Kocian, Roman
AU  - Slama, Jiri
AU  - Fagotti, Anna
AU  - Urbinati, Ailyn Mariela Vidal
AU  - Signorelli, Mauro
AU  - Bertolina, Francesca
AU  - Cibula, David
AU  - Fischerova, Daniela
TI  - Patient satisfaction with ultrasound, whole-body CT and whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI for pre-operative ovarian cancer staging: a multicenter prospective cross-sectional survey
AID  - 10.1136/ijgc-2023-005264
DP  - 2024 Mar 26
TA  - International Journal of Gynecologic Cancer
PG  - ijgc-2023-005264
4099  - http://ijgc.bmj.com/content/early/2024/03/26/ijgc-2023-005264.short
4100  - http://ijgc.bmj.com/content/early/2024/03/26/ijgc-2023-005264.full
AB  - Background In addition to the diagnostic accuracy of imaging methods, patient-reported satisfaction with imaging methods is important.Objective To report a secondary outcome of the prospective international multicenter Imaging Study in Advanced ovArian Cancer (ISAAC Study), detailing patients’ experience with abdomino-pelvic ultrasound, whole-body contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), and whole-body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (WB-DWI/MRI) for pre-operative ovarian cancer work-up.Methods In total, 144 patients with suspected ovarian cancer at four institutions in two countries (Italy, Czech Republic) underwent ultrasound, CT, and WB-DWI/MRI for pre-operative work-up between January 2020 and November 2022. After having undergone all three examinations, the patients filled in a questionnaire evaluating their overall experience and experience in five domains: preparation before the examination, duration of examination, noise during the procedure, radiation load of CT, and surrounding space. Pain perception, examination-related patient-perceived unexpected, unpleasant, or dangerous events (‘adverse events’), and preferred method were also noted.Results Ultrasound was the preferred method by 49% (70/144) of responders, followed by CT (38%, 55/144), and WB-DWI/MRI (13%, 19/144) (p<0.001). The poorest experience in all domains was reported for WB-DWI/MRI, which was also associated with the largest number of patients who reported adverse events (eg, dyspnea). Patients reported higher levels of pain during the ultrasound examination than during CT and WB-DWI/MRI (p<0.001): 78% (112/144) reported no pain or mild pain, 19% (27/144) moderate pain, and 3% (5/144) reported severe pain (pain score >7 of 10) during the ultrasound examination. We did not identify any factors related to patients' preferred method.Conclusion Ultrasound was the imaging method preferred by most patients despite being associated with more pain during the examination in comparison with CT and WB-DWI/MRI.Trial registration number NCT03808792.All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplementary information.