A scan degraded by motion, missing a sequence, or acquired without the contrast phase the question needed is a scan that will be acted on anyway unless the report says otherwise. 'Suboptimal' at the end of a technique line does not stop a surgeon booking a case; a sentence stating which question this study cannot answer does.
Write it as a consequence, not a complaint. Not 'motion artefact present' but 'motion artefact limits assessment of the pancreatic head; if clinical concern persists, repeat with breath-hold sequences'. Not 'no delayed phase' but 'without a delayed phase, washout cannot be assessed and a hypervascular lesion cannot be characterised'. The referring clinician then has a decision in front of them instead of a caveat they will read as hedging.
The same sentence protects the next reader. A follow-up comparison drawn against a limited baseline inherits that limitation silently, and the only defence is that the baseline report said so plainly.
- Name the specific question the study cannot answer, not just the artefact
- State what would answer it - which sequence, phase or modality
- Put the limitation in the conclusion, where it will be read, not only in the technique
- Flag a limited study explicitly as a baseline, for whoever compares against it later
- Avoid bare terms like 'suboptimal' that carry no clinical instruction
Why it matters
A limitation noted in the technique line and not in the conclusion changes nothing about what happens to the patient.
Read the rest in the app
You have read your two free briefings this month. The app carries all 27 specialties, every morning, free — and this finding is waiting in it.
Scan to keep reading on your phone. No account needed to start.
Tomorrow morning, before your first patient
One edition a day for radiology, written by the desk, every claim tied to its paper. Six minutes.
Get the app — free