Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Radiology for October 2009. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Endorectal Imaging Benefit Seen in Prostate Cancer
FRIDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Endorectal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging may be useful in categorizing men with stage T1c prostate cancer for proper treatment management, according to research published in the November issue of Radiology.
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Benefits Seen From Concurrent Chemotherapy and Radiation
FRIDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer who hadn't undergone surgery, concurrent radiotherapy and non-platinum chemotherapy was associated with fewer recurrences and deaths over 10 years, according to research published online Oct. 28 in The Lancet Oncology.
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Swine Flu Radiographic and CT Imaging Patterns Studied
FRIDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Ground-glass opacities (GGOs) in one or both lungs with consolidation are the most common computed radiographic (CR) and computed tomography (CT) images of patients with swine-origin influenza A (S-OIV), according to a study to be published in the December issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
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Study Finds Benefits With Full-Field Digital Mammography
THURSDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Full-field digital mammography (FFDM), along with computer-aided diagnosis (CAD), may provide improved detection of microcalcifications and ductal carcinoma in situ, according to research published in the November issue of Radiology.
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Additional Recommendations for Imaging on the Rise
THURSDAY, Oct. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Recommendations for additional imaging in radiology reports at one institution increased steeply in recent years, and from 1980 to 2006, radiologic and nuclear medicine procedures increased roughly 10-fold and 2.5 fold, respectively, according to two studies the November issue of Radiology.
Abstract - Sistrom
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Abstract - Mettler
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Link Between Nicotinic Acid and Atherosclerosis Examined
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and atherosclerotic disease, daily use of high-dose nicotinic acid may help reduce atherosclerosis, according to research completed in the United Kingdom and published in the Nov. 3 Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Racial Disparities Found in Breast Cancer Screening
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) -- In a statewide screening program for low-income women in South Carolina, race appeared to affect the time to completion of diagnostic workup following suspicious breast abnormalities, according to research published online Oct. 26 in Cancer.
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Radiologists May Be Reluctant to Disclose Mammography Errors
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Few radiologists say they would definitely disclose an error affecting the diagnosis of a patient with breast cancer, according to a study in the Oct. 28 issue of Radiology.
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Medical School Enrollment Continues to Expand
MONDAY, Oct. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Almost 18,400 students enrolled in medical school in the United States in 2009, a 2 percent increase over the previous year, but even more expansion is needed to meet future demand, according to an Oct. 20 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
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Neonatal Outcomes Examined in Cancer Pregnancies
FRIDAY, Oct. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Pregnancies in women with cancer tend to have good outcomes overall, but have been associated with high rates of induced labor and newborn admission to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), according to a study published online Oct. 19 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Radiation for Prostate Linked to Later Pelvic Cancer
THURSDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Radiation following radical surgery for prostate cancer may increase the risk of late primary pelvic second primary cancer, according to research published in the October issue of Urology.
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Some Hospital Staff Predicted to Be Infection Superspreaders
THURSDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Hospital staff such as therapists and radiologists who are in contact with all patients have the potential to be superspreaders of infection if they fail to wash their hands regularly, according to a study published online Oct. 19 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Pulmonary Embolism Found to Be Often Unrelated to DVT
THURSDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with pulmonary embolism, only a few have deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of the pelvic or proximal lower extremity veins, suggesting that pulmonary embolism originates in the lungs, according to a study in the October issue of the Archives of Surgery.
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Benefit of BRCA Testing in Ovarian Cancer Examined
THURSDAY, Oct. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Testing women with ovarian cancer for the BRCA mutation if they have a personal history of breast cancer, a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, or are of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, is a cost-effective strategy that may prevent cancers in first degree relatives (FDR), according to a study published online Oct. 19 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Sources Find Different Numbers of Active Physicians
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Estimates from U.S. Census Bureau surveys find fewer older physicians remaining active compared with the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile data, according to research published in the Oct. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Cardiovascular Disease Linked to Hip Fracture Risk
TUESDAY, Oct. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of hip fracture is much higher for people who have a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a study among Swedish twins reported in the Oct. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Lumbar Spondylolysis Rate Is 6 Percent in Japanese
FRIDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of lumbar spondylolysis, a crack in the lumbar vertebrae often caused by repeated stress, is about 6 percent in the Japanese, according to a study in the Oct. 1 issue of Spine.
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FDA Launches Drug Disposal Advice Web Page
FRIDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has launched a new Web page for consumers to educate them on the safe disposal of certain medicines that can be dangerous or even fatal if they end up in the wrong hands.
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Study Finds Exercise Reduces Bone Loss During Lactation
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Lactating women who participate in a resistance and aerobic exercise program may experience less bone loss, according to a study published in the October issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.
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Breast-Conserving Surgery, Mastectomy Rates Surveyed
TUESDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) is attempted in the majority of patients, with factors linked to mastectomy including surgeon recommendation, personal decision and failure of BCS, according to results of a survey published in the Oct. 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Study Evaluates Hospital Quality and Mortality Rates
TUESDAY, Oct. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Hospital mortality rates in the United States have improved, although major differences in quality still exist between the best and worst hospitals, according to a report published Oct. 13 by HealthGrades.
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Cytokines Linked to Knee Pain With Meniscal Injury
FRIDAY, Oct. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Several inflammatory cytokines may play a role in the pain that develops following meniscal injuries in the knee, according to research published in the Oct. 1 issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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Health Care Disparities Among States Found to Be Widening
FRIDAY, Oct. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Increasing health care costs and growing disparities in coverage among U.S. states point to the urgent need for national health care reform, according to an Oct. 8 state-by-state report card from the Commonwealth Fund Commission, a private foundation supporting research on the health care system.
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Glatiramer Acetate May Delay Multiple Sclerosis Onset
THURSDAY, Oct. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Early treatment with glatiramer acetate may delay the start of clinically definite multiple sclerosis (MS), according to the PreCISe study published online Oct. 7 in The Lancet.
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Roundtable Discussion Tackles Health Care Reform
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- The health care payment system, the role of consumers in responsible health care spending, and the use of comparative-effectiveness research were topics covered in a roundtable discussion with several health economics experts published in the Oct. 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Roundtable
Perspective - Cutler
Medical Students Want More Practice of Medicine Training
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Medical students in the United States perceive that they are not getting enough training in the practice of medicine, particularly in medical economics, according to a study in the September issue of Academic Medicine.
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Many Chronic Low Back Pain Patients Recover Within a Year
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Contrary to common wisdom that patients with chronic low back pain can rarely recover, one-third of patients will recover in nine months, and four in 10 patients will recover within a year, according to a study published Oct. 6 in BMJ.
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Effectiveness and Cost Help to Make Coverage Decisions
TUESDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Countries using evidence-based cost-effectiveness and effectiveness to help make drug coverage decisions show how these factors can successfully support decision making and can also be adapted to the specific conditions of other countries, according to a study in the Oct. 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Non-Cardiac Incidental Results Rarely Clinically Significant
TUESDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Non-cardiac findings found by cardiac computed tomography (CT) are usually not clinically significant and have no impact on death rates, but can lead to complications and add to health care costs, according to a study in the Oct. 13 Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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Combination May Improve Prostate Cancer Prediction
MONDAY, Oct. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Combining endorectal MRI, magnetic
resonance spectroscopy, and a low free-to-total prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ratio is highly accurate in predicting prostate cancer in men with high PSA levels, according to a European study in the October issue of Radiology.
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MRI Deemed Accurate for Diagnosing Endometriosis
MONDAY, Oct. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Pelvic MRI is a highly accurate and noninvasive way to diagnose and map endometriosis preoperatively in women suspected of having the condition, according to a study in the October issue of Radiology.
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CT Scans Found Suitable for Use in Memory Clinics
MONDAY, Oct. 5 (HealthDay News) -- In patients attending a memory clinic, 64-detector row computed tomography (CT) yields findings that are almost as reliable as those from an MRI, according to a study published in the October issue of Radiology.
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Technique Found Effective for Intracranial Aneurysms
FRIDAY, Oct. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Stent-assisted coil embolization is a safe and effective treatment for wide-necked intracranial aneurysms occurring during subarachnoid hemorrhage that are difficult to treat by other techniques, according to a study in the October issue of Radiology.
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Low Late Toxicity With Radiation Post Prostatectomy
THURSDAY, Oct. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Men with prostate cancer who receive salvage external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) after radical prostatectomy have a low risk of severe late toxicity, according to a study published online Sept. 22 in Radiotherapy & Oncology.
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CDC Says States Not Meeting Fruit and Veggie Objectives
THURSDAY, Oct. 1 (HealthDay News) -- In a Sept. 29 press release, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says no U.S. state is currently meeting the national Healthy People 2010 objectives for fruit and vegetable consumption.
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Physicians May Fail to Act on Electronic Alerts Quickly
THURSDAY, Oct. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Physicians using a system with electronic medical records and computerized alerts may not acknowledge or act upon critical imaging results in a timely manner, according to research published in the Sept. 28 Archives of Internal Medicine.
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