Availability of CT, MRI, and endoscopy procedures for Polish individuals with morbid obesity: cross-sectional telephone survey study

Purpose
The rise in morbid obesity presents diagnostic challenges in computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and endoscopy. Research on the availability of these procedures for people with extreme obesity is limited. We aimed to analyse the accessibility of CT, MRI, and endoscopy procedures for people with extreme obesity in a significant sample of facilities serving in the Polish public healthcare system.

Material and methods
A telephone-based survey was conducted on healthcare facilities offering CT, MRI, or endoscopy procedures, identified using the Polish National Health Fund (NFZ) API. A refined questionnaire was utilized after a pilot study to collect details on the equipment’s weight and diameter capacities, among other parameters. Of the initial 312 facilities sampled, 195 were eligible and successfully contacted, representing 9.4% of the facilities offering the procedures in the NFZ database.

Results
Of the 195 facilities, 86.4% of CT departments knew their scanner’s maximum weight, 57.6% its diameter; 76.5% of MRI departments recognized their scanner’s weight, and 59.2% its diameter, while 77.3% of endoscopy departments were aware of their maximum weight capacity. Approximately 28% of CT, 5% of MRI, and 39% of endoscopy departments could perform the procedure if the patient’s weight was over 200 kg. Facilities knowledgeable about CT’s maximum diameter and MRI’s maximum weight often provided private CT/MRI services.

Conclusions
A significant proportion of Polish facilities providing CT, MRI, and endoscopic examinations in the Polish public healthcare system were unaware of their equipment’s weight and diameter limits. Merely 5% of the surveyed MRI facilities could potentially accommodate a patient weighing over 200 kg.