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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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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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In a pilot test, The Joint Commission's new Web-based collaborative forum, called WikiHealthCare (wikihealthcare.jointcommission.org), is encouraging health care providers, administrators, researchers, and other health care professionals to add their comments on the development of standards pertaining to medication protocols in radiology and MRI safety.
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For years, Robert Lefsrud, MD, a radiologist with a subspecialty in neuroradiology and musculoskeletal radiology, was a member of a large and busy radiology group providing services in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. Two years ago, he and a colleague decided to branch out and form their own company, St. Croix Radiology Consultants in Dellwood, MN.
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With initial safety trials of the world's most powerful MRI system completed, clinicians are one step closer to accessing real-time images of biological processes in the brain.
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With the dramatic increases in the use of CT in recent years, people are questioning whether all these tests are really necessary or whether they are just driving up health care expenses. The November 2007 issue of Consumer Reports highlighted 10 tests and treatments that the magazine said were overused, and three of them whole-body scans, high-tech (CT) angiography, and virtual colonoscopy involve CT.
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Most of the attention on catheter-related bloodstream infections (CR-BSI) in the ICU focuses on central venous catheters (CVC), a bias that likely derives, in part, from the 2002 Centers for Disease Control guidelines which stipulate that arterial catheters (AC) have "low infection ratesrarely associated with bloodstream infections.
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A prospective observational study was conducted to assess diagnostic and therapeutic efficacies of a daily routine CXR and to evaluate the impact of discontinuing this practice. The setting was a 10-bed mixed medical-surgical ICU of a non-academic teaching hospital in The Netherlands.
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n this issue: Stop smoking drug Chantix rates stronger warning from FDA; Type 2 diabetes surgery on the way?; Vytorin study inconclusive; Influenza A virus found resistant to Tamiflu; FDA actions.
