Use of a standardized reporting template: can we improve report quality in pancreatic and peri-ampullary malignancy?

Background Accurate pancreatic and periampullary cancer staging with resectability assessment is vital to optimize surgical management and improve patient outcomes. The aim of this study is to assess the usefulness of a standardized reporting template. Methods Retrospective review of all surgically managed patients with pancreatic or periampullary malignancy between January 2018 and June 2019. Pre-operative CT imaging report was anonymised and audited against a modified NCCN reporting template. The same imaging studies were re-reported by two experienced GI radiologists using the same template. Results Fifty-nine patients (37 male) with median age of 68 years (36-83) underwent surgery for suspected pancreatic/peri-ampullary malignancy. The median time between pre-operative CT scan and surgery was 56.5 days (14-225). The use of reporting template resulted in significant increase in number of reported key features (p < 0.005), interobserver agreed features (p < 0.005) and overall k-value assessed interobserver agreement (p < 0.005). Template reports correlated closely with key intraoperative findings whilst primary free text reports did not (k-value 0.85-0.96 versus 0.20-0.46, p < 0.05). Conclusion The use of a reporting template resulted in a more complete and accurate pancreatic/peri-ampullary tumour evaluation, improved inter-observer relatability and correlation with intraoperative findings.