The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s latest radiological clearance should come as welcome news to radiologists and cardiologists who perform interventional procedures.

The UNIVERSAL Trial, one of the largest multicenter randomized trials comparing ultrasound with fluoroscopic guidance vs. fluoroscopic guidance alone, found there was no reduction in major vascular access complications. 

Experts arrived at this conclusion after comparing incidents of hematoma between patients who did and did not receive antithrombotic therapy prior to their procedure.

A new paper in the Journal of the American College of Radiology digs into the emergence of physician assistants and nurse practitioners in radiology and how it has impacted clinical and procedural volumes and imaging interpretation.

Patients who received an injection had an infection rate of 2.2% at 4-month follow-up. In comparison, the infection rate for the general population in Massachusetts was 7.5% during the same period.

Higher complication rates were observed in inpatient settings and in patients with COPD. Also associated with increased adverse events were prior lung cancer screening and the use of oral anticoagulants or antiplatelets.

Gadolinium might be an alternative, stop-gap solution for interventional procedures during the current iodine contrast shortage.

Alan H. Matsumoto, MD, chair of the department of radiology at the University of Virginia, vice chair of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Board of Chancellors, and chairman of the ACR Commission on Interventional and Cardiovascular Radiology, explains that the iodine contrast shortage has led to use of MRI gadolinium contrast agents in some cases.