RT Book, Section
A1 Anderson, H. Vernon
A2 Samady, Habib
A2 Fearon, William F.
A2 Yeung, Alan C.
A2 King III, Spencer B.
SR Print(0)
ID 1146607582
T1 Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement in Interventional Cardiology
T2 Interventional Cardiology, 2e
YR 2017
FD 2017
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071820363
LK accesscardiology.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1146607582
RD 2023/03/28
AB Interventional  cardiology  consists  of  several  related  procedures  that  are  performed  in  the  coronary,  peripheral,  and  cerebral  vascular  systems,  as  well  as  the  central  aorta,  the  cardiac  valves,  and  the  structural  units  (parenchyma)  of  the  heart  itself.  Almost  all  of  the  procedures  are  performed  under  radiographic  fluoroscopic  guidance  in  a  cardiac  catheterization  laboratory  (cath  lab),  or  sometimes  a  “hybrid”  laboratory  that  can  also  function  as  a  surgical  operating  room.  Often  the  fluoroscopic  imaging  is  complemented  with  intravascular  ultrasound,  transthoracic  or  intracardiac  echocardiography,  and  rotational  computed  tomographic  angiography  (CTA).  Thus,  the  modern  cath  lab  is  a  complex,  highly  technologically  sophisticated  facility  where  both  patients  with  chronic,  stable  conditions  as  well  as  patients  with  life-threatening  illnesses  are  evaluated  and  treated.  Therefore,  it  is  essential  to  have  an  active  quality  assurance  and  improvement  (QA/QI)  program  in  place.  This  program  will  need  to  consider  all  aspects  of  the  risks  encountered  by  patients  undergoing  procedures  in  the  cath  lab,  as  well  as  by  staff  working  there.  This  will  of  course  include  radiation  risk  and  methodologies  for  reducing  it.  However,  radiation  risk  is  an  extensive  subject  on  its  own  and  will  not  be  covered  in  this  chapter.