Andreas H Mahnken, Esther Boullosa Seoane, Allesandro Cannavale, Michiel W de Haan, Rok Dezman, Roman Kloeckner, Gerard O'Sullivan, Anthony Ryan, Georgia Tsoumakidou
Author Information
Andreas H Mahnken: Clinic of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Marburg University Hospital, Baldingerstrasse, 35043, Marburg, Germany. mahnken@med.uni-marburg.de.
Esther Boullosa Seoane: Department of Vascular and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital of Vigo, Vigo, Spain.
Allesandro Cannavale: Department of Radiological Sciences, 'Policlinico Umberto I'University Hospital, Rome, Italy.
Michiel W de Haan: Department of Radiology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Rok Dezman: Clinical Institute of Radiology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Zaloska 7, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Roman Kloeckner: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Johannes Gutenberg-University Medical Center, 55131, Mainz, Germany.
BACKGROUND: Interventional radiology (IR) has come a long way to a nowadays UEMS-CESMA endorsed clinical specialty. Over the last decades IR became an essential part of modern medicine, delivering minimally invasive patient-focused care. PURPOSE: To provide principles for delivering high quality of care in IR. METHODS: Systematic description of clinical skills, principles of practice, organizational standards and infrastructure needed for the provision of professional IR services. RESULTS: There are IR procedures for almost all body parts and organs, covering a broad range of medical conditions. In many cases IR procedures are the mainstay of therapy, e.g. in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. In parallel the specialty moved from the delivery of a procedure towards taking care for a patient's condition with the interventional radiologists taking ultimate responsibility for the patient's outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The evolution from a technical specialty to a clinical specialty goes along with changing demands on how clinical care in IR is provided. The CIRSE Clinical Practice Manual provides interventional radiologist with a starting point for developing his or her IR practice as a clinician.
