Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Radiology for July 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.
Electronic Disease Surveillance Systems Vary Widely
FRIDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) -- Electronic disease surveillance systems vary widely from state to state and the lack of homogeneity will raise the cost of data sharing, according to a study published in the July 31 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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U.S. Health Data Network a Powerful Tool for Quality
FRIDAY, July 31 (HealthDay News) -- The U.S. health care system is on the verge of a new era in which distributed health data networks will assure local control of sensitive individual patient data, while providing medical researchers and policy makers access to powerful aggregate data on millions of patients, according to a pair of articles in the September 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Abdominal Aortic Calcium Linked to Coronary Calcium
THURSDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- High levels of abdominal aortic calcium (AAC) are strongly associated with high levels of coronary artery calcium (CAC), according to a study in the August 1 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology.
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MRI Can Help Determine Glaucoma Severity
THURSDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- Magnetic resonance imaging of the optic nerve and optic radiations of the brain may offer a new diagnostic tool to evaluate severity of glaucoma, according to a study in the August issue of Radiology.
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Radiologist Workload Rises Overall, but Varies by Practice
THURSDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- The workload for radiologists has increased 34 percent overall since the early 1990s, but there is considerable variation in the number of procedures performed each year by individual radiology practices, according to a study in the August issue of Radiology.
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Predictors Identified for Progression of Benign MS
THURSDAY, July 30 (HealthDay News) -- Cognitive assessment tests and conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can predict future disease progression in patients with benign multiple sclerosis (B-MS), according to a study published online July 29 in Neurology.
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Risk Factors May Predict Fast Knee Cartilage Loss
TUESDAY, July 28 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with no or minimal structural osteoarthritis, baseline factors including overweight and obesity are strong predictors of significant fast tibiofemoral cartilage loss, according to a study published online July 27 in Radiology.
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Magnetic Nanoparticles May Aid in Rapid Cancer Detection
MONDAY, July 27 (HealthDay News) -- A biosensor using nanoparticles that offers rapid detection of cancer cells may prove to be useful for the early detection of the disease, according to research published online July 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Methods to Determine Health Care Priorities Questioned
FRIDAY, July 23 (HealthDay News) -- Evaluating health care priorities based on the attitudes of patients (direct method) or the attitudes of the general public (indirect method) can produce different results, complicating decisions on the allocation of health care resources, according to two papers published July 22 in BMJ.
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Abstract - Dolan
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Camera Phones Can Help Doctors Make Rare Diagnoses
FRIDAY, July 24 (HealthDay News) -- A pregnant patient with an uncommon nipple condition captured images of the transient changes to her nipples and gave them to her doctor, enabling an accurate diagnosis, according to an article published online July 22 in BMJ.
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Biomarkers May Predict Incipient Alzheimer's Disease
TUESDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with mild cognitive impairment, three cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers may accurately identify incipient Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the July 22/29 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
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Colonoscopy Series Assesses Adenoma Recurrence Risk
TUESDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with prior adenoma, looking back at findings from the last two colonoscopies, rather than just the most recent colonoscopy, can help identify patients at low risk for adenoma recurrence who require less frequent surveillance, according to a study in the July 21 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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Breast Cancer Risk From Childhood Radiation Quantified
TUESDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- Female survivors of childhood cancer have an increased risk of breast cancer that has a linear relationship with radiation dose, according to a study published online July 20 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Ultrasound Can Help Diagnose Benign Skin Lesions
TUESDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- Ultrasound is a useful tool to diagnose benign subcutaneous lesions and could reduce the number of lesions referred to a hospital for treatment, according to a study published in the July issue of the Archives of Dermatology.
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Baseline Function Can Affect Change After Prostate Therapy
TUESDAY, July 21 (HealthDay News) -- The long-term effect of prostate cancer treatments on men's sexual, bowel, and urinary function depends on patients' baseline levels of function, according to research published online July 20 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Obesity Rates Highest Among African-American Population
FRIDAY, July 17 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of obesity is far higher among African-Americans than Caucasians in America, and Hispanics also have significantly higher obesity rates, according to a study published in the July 17 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Low Ovarian Cancer Detection Rate by Symptoms Alone
THURSDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- Using symptoms alone only identifies 20 percent of women with malignant tumors, but a negative result on the symptoms index combined with a negative ultrasound result is highly indicative of a benign mass, according to a study published online July 14 in Cancer.
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Combination Therapy Can Cut Prostate Cancer Death Risk
THURSDAY, July 16 (HealthDay News) -- The risk of death from prostate cancer is lower for patients treated with brachytherapy supplemented by external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) and androgen suppression therapy (AST) than it is for those treated with brachytherapy alone, according to a study published online July 13 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Capsule Endoscopy Found Inferior to Colonoscopy
WEDNESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- In the detection of colorectal polyps and cancer, capsule endoscopy has low rates of sensitivity and specificity compared to conventional colonoscopy, according to a study published in the July 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Smoking Linked to More Rapid Multiple Sclerosis Progression
WEDNESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with multiple sclerosis who smoke have worse disease and develop progressive disease faster than nonsmokers, according to a study in the July issue of the Archives of Neurology.
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Benefits Seen for Prospective Electrocardiogram Triggering
WEDNESDAY, July 15 (HealthDay News) -- Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) with prospective electrocardiogram triggering provides accurate detection of coronary stenosis with a low radiation dose, according to research published in the July 21 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
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White Matter Changes May Predict Cognition Issues
TUESDAY, July 14 (HealthDay News) -- The progression of white matter hypersensitivity is a better predictor of persistent cognitive impairment than baseline white matter hypersensitivity volume, according to a study published in the July 14 issue of Neurology.
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Radiation Risk Estimates for Artery Screening Developed
TUESDAY, July 14 (HealthDay News) -- The cancer risk attributable to radiation doses as a result of using multi-detector computed tomography (CT) to screen for coronary artery calcification has been calculated, and can be compared against screening benefits estimates, once that information becomes available, to devise strategies for screening and prevention of coronary artery disease, according to a study published in the July 13 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Study Finds a Third of Breast Cancers May Be Overdiagnosed
FRIDAY, July 10 (HealthDay News) -- One in three breast cancers diagnosed in public mammography screenings is an overdiagnosed cancer that will never produce symptoms or lead to death, according to a meta-analysis by Danish researchers published July 9 in BMJ.
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Routine X-Rays After Lumbar Fusion May Not Be Useful
FRIDAY, July 10 (HealthDay News) -- Routine X-rays appear to have limited usefulness in the year after lumbar spinal fusion, according to research published in the July 1 issue of Spine.
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Obesity Rates for American Adults Still Going Up
THURSDAY, July 9 (HealthDay News) -- At least 25 percent of the adult population in 32 states is now obese, and national prevalence of obesity has risen from 25.6 percent in 2007 to 26.1 percent in 2008, according to a July 8 report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
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One-Fifth of Patients Aged 60 to 69 Have Spinal Stenosis
THURSDAY, July 9 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) increases with age, and almost one-fifth of patients aged 60 to 69 years have absolute stenosis, putting them at greater risk for lower back pain, according to a study published in the July issue of The Spine Journal.
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MRI May Offer Superior Accuracy in Evaluating Endometriosis
THURSDAY, July 9 (HealthDay News) -- The use of 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging provides superior accuracy for the preoperative assessment of endometriosis, according to research published online July 7 in Radiology.
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Advances in Posterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Seen
TUESDAY, July 7 (HealthDay News) -- Although major advances have been made in the surgical treatment of posterior cruciate ligament tears, the optimal technique has yet to be identified, according to a review article published in the July issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
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Aortic Dilations Often Missed on Electronic Medical Records
TUESDAY, July 7 (HealthDay News) -- Aortic dilations picked up on computed tomography (CT) scans are often not recorded by clinicians in the patient's electronic medical record, according to a study published in the July 7 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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No Superior Treatment for Acute Basilar Artery Occlusion
MONDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with acute basilar artery occlusion, intra-arterial therapy (IAT) is not unequivocally superior to primary intravenous thrombolysis (IVT), according to a study published online July 6 in The Lancet Neurology.
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Hip Screening Methods for Later Arthritis Weighed
MONDAY, July 6 (HealthDay News) -- Screening of all newborns for hip dysplasia with a physical exam, along with ultrasound for high-risk infants, appears to be the best of three options for improving the chance of having a non-arthritic hip later in life, according to research published in the July 1 issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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Mayo Clinic Streamlines Protocol Development
THURSDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- At the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, a project using focused process engineering has significantly accelerated the development and approval of clinical trials, according to a study published online June 29 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
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Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Useful in Crohn's Disease
THURSDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with Crohn's disease, contrast-enhanced ultrasound can accurately assess disease activity, according to a study published in the July issue of Gastroenterology.
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New Pediatric CT Protocols Can Reduce Radiation Dose
THURSDAY, July 2 (HealthDay News) -- In pediatric patients, new computed tomography protocols based on clinical indications, patient weight, and number of prior studies may result in significant dose reduction and high compliance, according to a study published in the July issue of Radiology.
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Preoperative Staging May Reduce Lung Cancer Surgeries
WEDNESDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- In patients with non-small cell lung cancer, preoperative staging with combined positron-emission tomography and computed tomography (PET-CT) is associated with reductions in total and futile thoracotomies and has no effect on overall mortality, according to a study published in the July 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Needle Treatment May Help Calcific Shoulder Tendonitis
WEDNESDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- Percutaneous ultrasound-guided treatment of rotator cuff calcific tendonitis may provide rapid improvement of shoulder function and relief of pain, according to research published in the July issue of Radiology.
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Overweight Patients Require Increased Radiation Dose
WEDNESDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- During diagnostic radiologic procedures, overweight and obese patients require radiation doses that are several times greater than those needed by lean patients. With careful management, however, the effective doses may be reduced, according to a study published in the July issue of Radiology.
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Priorities Set for Comparative Effectiveness Research
WEDNESDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- The extent to which large-scale public investment in comparative effectiveness research can achieve its goals of better decision making and improved uptake of new knowledge depends on engaging the medical profession and patients, according to recommendations by the Institute of Medicine published online June 30 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
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