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There is no denying that the use of CT scans has increased dramatically since CT was first introduced in the 1970s. According to some estimates, the number of CT scans performed in the United States has grown from 3 million per year in 1980 to more than 62 million per year today, as the technology has become increasingly available and easy to use.1()
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While it is not without risks, optical colonoscopy (OC) has long been the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening. The problem is that most Americans fail to undergo screening as recommended, probably because it is an invasive procedure that requires what many consider to be an onerous preparation regimen designed to cleanse the colon. For that precise reason, there is growing interest in CT colonography (CTC) as an alternative screening procedure that could potentially encourage many more people to undergo colorectal screening, and ultimately save lives.
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Early feedback on a new ultrasound technology suggests that it is bringing important improvements to the table for the treatment of heart-rhythm disorders.
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Accompanying the growing demand for radiological services across the country is the growing physical size of the patients requesting those services. This demand has brought new challenges in terms of obesity and radiology. Can good quality images be obtained from an obese patient, and can that obese patient even fit on a machine?
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is drafting comprehensive new guidelines for urinary tract infections (UTIs), a complication so common and typically treatable that it has been accepted with a sort of benign neglect by the health care system.
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A decision by a federal agency to halt a landmark infection prevention effort continues to create fallout, with the American Hospital Association (AHA) issuing a strongly worded letter protesting the move.
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Surprising research results which have been widely misinterpreted as evidence that hand hygiene has little impact on infection rates more likely reveal that health care infections (HAIs) arise from complex causes and cannot be prevented by a single intervention, the author tells Hospital Infection Control.
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The Joint Commission's proposed 2009 National Patient Safety Goals include the following new emphasis on infection prevention:
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