Emergency Radiology - Helping to save lives

Sri Lanka College of Radiologists celebrates Int’l Day of Radiology  

Today, November 8, is earmarked as the International Day of Radiology which is celebrated each year by the global radiology community. It was on this day 121 years ago that German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen made history by inventing the X-ray, a discovery that revolutionised the practice of medicine. From that day on, radiology has emerged as one of the most important branches of medicine, continuing to develop in leaps and bounds, helping to save precious lives. Now in Sri Lanka too, Radiologists render a valuable service as specialised medical professionals in patient management, disease prevention, health screening and so forth. 

Today, the Sri Lanka College of Radiologists, which is the professional body representing all Radiologists in the country, joins the world radiology community in celebrating the International Day of Radiology (IDoR 2017). This year’s theme is ‘Emergency Radiology,’ highlighting the advances made in emergency radiology and its role in detection, diagnosis and management of acute diseases, injuries and trauma. 

Emergency radiology can be defined as a branch of radiology, dedicated to imaging and management of patients who are acutely ill or injured. Although relatively-new as a field, emergency radiology has already emerged as a vital and indispensable specialty with a rapid growth parallel to the expansion of emergency medicine which itself is considered a separate specialty of medicine. Healthcare institutions worldwide have now established accident, emergency and primary care units, exclusively treating accidental trauma and medical and surgical emergencies.

Sports and occupational injuries are another category of emergencies necessitating designated facilities to provide emergency lifesaving care. These emergency units are equipped with modern imaging facilities such as high-end ultra-sound (US) and computed tomography (CT) scanners, and in some instances, with vascular intervention suites for prompt diagnosis and treatment of all kinds of emergencies. Therefore, responsibility of the emergency radiologist is immense and does not lie only with imaging of patients in the emergency department, but also as a clinician performing minimally-invasive procedures saving lives. Because emergencies can happen anytime, emergency radiologists should be always on hand, readily able to perform head-to-toe imaging procedures and interpret their results rapidly and accurately. 

Because emergencies can happen anytime, emergency radiologists should be always on hand

There have been many technical advancements, scientific innovations and clinical developments in the field of emergency radiology during the past couple of decades. State-of-the-art high-end US, multi-detector CT and digital plain radiography has revolutionised patient care in emergency medicine. The attending radiologist diagnoses injuries and emergencies such as appendicitis, bowel obstruction, internal bleeding, stroke and gynecological emergencies, with the facilities available at his/her centre. Tertiary care hospitals in main cities are well-equipped with modern facilities even for interventional procedures where radiologists can treat internal bleeding, drain internal abscesses, relieve obstructions and so forth, without patients having to undergo cumbersome surgeries.

Prompt attendance to patients with stroke with vascular interventional procedures such as clot retraction could immensely improve long-term prognosis. However, this is in stark contrast to the challenging situation prevalent in peripheral parts of the island, where the radiologist is compelled to provide a comparable service with bare minimum of facilities available. 

We, as the Sri Lanka College of Radiologists, mark the International Day of Radiology and align with its theme by highlighting the contribution of emergency radiology in the care of critically ill or injured patients. We will always strive to provide the best imaging facilities to our needy patients with the same commitment.