SAT-174 Adrenal Incidentalomas: Prevalence and Referral Patterns in a UK University Hospital Using Real-Life Data

The estimated prevalence of adrenal incidentaloma at abdominal CT scan is 0.5-2% (1). However, from clinical practice, we noticed that incidentalomas are referred from other imaging modalities (eg MRI) and of other sites (eg thorax, spine). We therefore explored the relationship between prevalence rates and (i) imaging modality and (ii) its change over time, in a real world clinical setting from a large UK teaching hospital/trauma centre. We also examined the referral pattern of potential lesions to endocrinology. We extracted data from all radiology reports for all CT and MRI scans from Jan 2018-Oct 2019. We utilised a key phrase search strategy (eg adrenal adenoma/lesion/mass/nodule/incidentaloma, incidental adrenal, indeterminate adrenal). Where possible we excluded false hits (eg no adrenal lesion). These were linked to the referral patterns as identified by a referral logged or an attendance (new or follow-up) to endocrine clinic 3 months post index scan. Preliminary data showed that, from a total of 127878 scans performed, 2604 potential lesions were reported (prevalence 2.0%), comprising 2496/88838 (2.8%) CT scans and 108/39040 (0.3%) MRI scans. The number of scans/month increased in 2019 vs 2018 (6.9% for CT and 12.6% for MRI). Only 9.0% and 15.7% of reported potential lesions detected by CT and MRI, respectively, were referred for endocrine review. Hence, MRI patients were more likely to be referred than those with CT scans (p=0.018). Referral rates were lower in 2019 than 2018 (8.6% vs 14.4%; p less than 0.001). This approach has its limitations but allows efficiently review of large cohorts. Adrenal incidentalomas pose a rising challenge in view of increasing reliance on scanning. Despite a dedicated adrenal multidisciplinary team with a national track record in improving management of incidentalomas (2), the referral rate of potential lesions is worryingly low and not improving, with >90% of cases overlooked. This work is part of on-going innovation to enhance the pick-up rate for these cases whilst addressing the increased endocrine workload in a cost-effective manner. 1. Barzon L, Sonino N, Fallo F, Palu G, Boscaro M. Prevalence and natural history of adrenal incidentalomas. Eur J Endocrinol. 2003;149:273-285. 2. Hanna FWF, Issa BG, Lea SC, George C, Golash A, Firn M, Ogunmekan S, Maddock E, Sim J, Xydopoulos G, Fordham R, Fryer AA. Adrenal lesions found incidentally: how to improve clinical and cost-effectiveness. BMJ Open Quality. 2019;In press.