Management of incidental findings on neuroimaging in the Rotterdam study

This chapter gives an overview of the management of incidental findings on neuroimaging in the population-based Rotterdam Study, in which brain MRI was introduced as part of the core study protocol in 2005 (1.5 T). To this purpose, a protocol for the management of incidental findings was defined by a group of experts from different fields. During the study, all brain scans are reviewed for incidental findings by group of trained researchers, under the supervision of a neuroradiologist. Only findings deemed of potential clinical relevance (according to the study protocol) are reported to the participants. Overall, incidental findings that require additional clinical review by a medical specialist, of which meningiomas and aneurysms are most common, occur in just over 3%. The vast majority of these undergo a watch and wait policy, indicating that clinical consequences are in most cases limited.

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