Emergency Interventional Radiology in Rural Japan: Spatial Transfer Patterns, Temporal Workload…

Cohort studyJournal of vascular and interventional radiology : JVIR· Jul 2026

Emergency Interventional Radiology in Rural Japan: Spatial Transfer Patterns, Temporal Workload Distribution, and the Clinical and Procedural Spectrum with Implications for Regional Interventional Radiology Workforce and Care Systems.

Kento Hatakeyama, Tomoki Tozawa, Takashi Etchuya … Naoko Mori

Interventional RadiologyCohort studyClinical practiceQ1IF 1.9

Embolization made up the vast majority of emergency interventional radiology procedures in this rural center.

Emergency Interventional Radiology in Rural Japan: Spatial Transfer Patterns, Temporal Workload Distribution, and the Clinical and Procedural Spectrum with Implications for Regional Interventional Radiology Workforce and Care Systems.

Kento Hatakeyama … Naoko Mori

Journal of vascular and interventional radiology · Jul 2026 · Q1 in Radiology

Purpose

To characterize emergency interventional radiology (interventional radiology) practice at a tertiary care center in a rural Japanese prefecture, focusing on spatial transfer patterns, temporal workload distribution, and the clinical and procedural spectrum.

Methods

This retrospective single-center study included patients who underwent emergency interventional radiology between February 2023 and April 2025.

n = 150 emergency IR procedures

89%

Results

89%

embolization was the go-to procedure for nearly all emergency cases

n = 150 emergency IR procedures

More results

Most procedures involved interhospital transfers (64.0%), while 36.0% were in-hospital emergencies.

Among transferred patients, the median transfer distance was 40 km, the median time to procedure was 339 min, and no significant association was observed between transfer distance and time to procedure.

More results

After-hours procedures accounted for 65.3% of all cases.

The 7-day and 30-day mortality rate was 6% and 10.7%, consistent with previously reported outcomes.

“

Conclusion · 1 of 2

Emergency interventional radiology in this rural prefecture was characterized by substantial inter-regional patient transfers, a high after-hours workload, and a predominance of embolization procedures for hemorrhagic conditions.

Conclusion · 2 of 2

Given the low case volume per region and limited workforce, a centralized hub-based model with structured regional transfer systems may represent a practical and sustainable approach for delivering emergency interventional radiology services in rural settings.

Emergency Interventional Radiology in Rural Japan: Spatial Transfer Patterns, Temporal Workload Distribution, and the Clinical and Procedural Spectrum with Implications for Regional Interventional Radiology Workforce and Care Systems.

Emergency Interventional Radiology in Rural Japan: Spatial Transfer Patterns, Temporal Workload Distribution, and the Clinical and Procedural Spectrum with Implications for Regional Interventional Radiology Workforce and Care Systems.

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