Availability and Utilization of Radiological Guidance Tools in Interventional Radiology Units in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ultrasound guided most interventional radiology procedures in Kinshasa, DR Congo
Availability and Utilization of Radiological Guidance Tools in Interventional Radiology Units in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Various guidance techniques can be performed under ultrasound (ultrasound), computed tomography (computed tomography), fluoroscopy, and magnetic resonance imaging (magnetic resonance imaging) guidance; They pave the way for simple, intermediate, and complex minimally invasive procedures by improving visualization of the target, the access route, and device progression.
This study aimed to evaluate the availability and utilization of radiological guidance tools in interventional radiology units in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This descriptive study was conducted in selected medical facilities in Kinshasa.
ultrasound guided most procedures, far more than computed tomography or fluoroscopy
Female patients represented 55.3% of the study population.
Among the 471 interventional radiology procedures analyzed, age was available for 469 cases.
The mean age was 48.2 ± 17.2 years, with a range of 1 to 84 years.
Simple interventional radiology procedures were the most common, accounting for 327 procedures (69.4%), followed by intermediate procedures in 126 cases (26.8%) and complex procedures in 18 cases (3.8%).
This study shows that ultrasound guidance remains the most commonly used radiological guidance method in interventional radiology settings in Kinshasa.
However, magnetic resonance imaging, fluoroscopy-computed tomography, electromagnetic, and cone-beam computed tomography guidance were not used in this series.
These findings provide baseline local evidence on current technical capacity and unmet equipment needs, and may help guide future planning and development of interventional radiology services in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.