December 2010
Regular screening for breast cancer using mammography in women between the ages of 40 and 50 allows greater likelihood of conservative surgery for breast cancer, as opposed to mastectomy, according to new research presented at RSNA 2010 on Thursday, December 2nd.
“This work is quite a novel approach in that success of screening is usually measured in terms of reduction in mortality from breast cancer,” said Nicholas Perry, MD, of The London Breast Institute, London, UK. “We are not aware of any other studies in this age group comparing success in terms of breast preservation,” he added.
In their study, Dr. Perry and colleagues compared mastectomy rates following breast cancer diagnosis at a UK center in women aged 40-50 with a prior mammogram within the previous year to those with longer interval or no previous mammography.
by Excerpta Medica
A simple axial, non-angulated measurement of trabecular bone with computed tomography (CT) at L1 appears to be at least as accurate as quantitative CT (QCT), which is more labor intensive, for evaluating bone mineral density, according to data presented at the 2010 RSNA annual meeting. If substantiated by others, this approach could be a new standard for evaluating patients at risk of osteoporosis.
In this study, 47 women with a mean age of 58 years were evaluated with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and CT screening. DEXA served as the reference standard for comparing QCT and a single trabecular measure of CT attenuation at L1 with CT colonography (CTC).
by Excerpta Medica
Patient satisfaction can be improved significantly and complication rates reduced with interventional procedures if certain simple measures are taken before and after the procedure, according to a study presented at this year’s Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA 2010).
The study was performed by specialists at Hull Royal Infirmary, in Hull, UK, to explore the factors influencing the experience of patients undergoing interventional radiological procedures.
The researchers sent out questionnaires to 315 patients undergoing interventional vascular procedures prior to treatment, immediately following treatment, as well as 4 weeks and 3 months after the procedure.
The questionnaires were aimed at surveying the patients’ understanding of the procedure, their level of anxiety, and the amount of pain they were experiencing. The latter was assessed using a visual analog scoring system (VAS). The short form 36 (SF 36) health survey questionnaire was used to evaluate quality of life changes associated with the procedure.
by Excerpta Medica
The risk of developing cancer from ionizing radiation generated by computed tomography (CT) equipment appears to be significantly lower than previously estimated, according to results of a retrospective cohort study presented on 1 December at this year’s Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).
The study was conducted by researchers at Stanford University, Stanford, California, and involved a review of Medicare claims submitted between 1998 and 2005 for over 10 million people, focusing on the well-characterized patient group of older adults, who are most frequently imaged. The data were analyzed in two temporally differentiated cohorts: 1998-2001 (N = 5,267,230) and 2002-2005 (N = 5,555,345).
by Excerpta Medica
According to an analysis of almost 5 million teleradiology interpretations that occurred in a teleradiology practice over a period of three years, the accuracy of these interpretations is nearly 100%, researchers said at this year’s Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Results of the research were announced on Wednesday, December 1st by Eduard Michel, MD, PhD, of Virtual Radiologic Corporation, Plymouth, Minnesota.
Dr. Michel and colleagues evaluated the accuracy of 4,879,715 preliminary radiological studies that were interpreted between 1/1/2007 and 12/31/2009. “Our study is the largest retrospective analysis of the accuracy of interpretation in a teleradiology practice,” Dr. Michel noted.
by Excerpta Medica