Cutaneous melanoma follow-up: Appropriateness of requests for ultrasound tests - the S.Gallicano national referral centre experience

Background: cutaneous melanoma is a malignant neoplasm with a constantly increasing incidence,the prognosis of which is largely dependent on early diagnosis. the appropriateness of requests for ultrasound (us) tests during melanoma follow-up of patients referred to our institute was evaluated. patients and methods. the requests for us tests of all patients referred to our institute over a four-month period were assessed. in order to correctly evaluate the appropriateness of requests,patients were split into two groups on the basis of melanoma thickness: > 1 mm (group a) and < 1 mm (group b). results: 546 patients were enrolled in our study out of a total of 1240 us tests performed. out of 290 group a patients,104 patients (35%) did not meet the established congruity criteria. group b was composed of 256 individuals,92 patients (35.9%) of which were found to have at least one inappropriate request. conclusion: in our study,more than 30% of the requests for us tests were found to be inappropriate,to the detriment of those with a real need for diagnostic testing. this lengthens waiting lists and it may also increase public healthcare costs. therefore,it is mandatory to adopt new,widely accepted and easily applicable guidelines. © 2013 solivetti et al.; licensee biomed central ltd.