Radiology Clinical Briefs

• No Benefits in Showing Carotid Images to Improve Quit Rates in Smokers CME Smokers shown carotid artery imaging results as part of an intensive smoking-cessation program did not have any improvements in their cardiovascular risk factors or smoking cessation behaviors.
  Heartwire CME, January 2012
• Advancing Joint Damage Still Occurs Even in RA Remission CME In patients with rheumatoid arthritis, joint damage progresses even when they meet the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints criterion for remission.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, January 2012
• Neck Pain Alleviated With Spinal Manipulation, Exercise CME Spinal manipulation and a home exercise program provide better relief from neck pain than medications, a new study says.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, January 2012
• MRI Before Epidural Injection Not Beneficial in Back Pain CME A new study shows that magnetic resonance imaging before epidural steroid injections for low back pain has no major effect on treatment outcomes and only a minor effect on clinician decision making.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, December 2011
• CMS Programs Promoting Healthcare System Change Begin to Show Results CME As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shifts to paying for quality instead of volume, what are the implications for care providers?
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, December 2011
• Breast Cancer Deaths Reduced With Regular Mammography Screening CME A new study found that regular mammography screening reduced the risk for breast cancer mortality by half.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, December 2011
• FDA Safety Changes: Boxed Warning Added to Ultrasound Contrast Agent CME/CE A perflutren-containing microsphere ultrasound contrast agent used in echocardiography may uncommonly cause serious cardiopulmonary reactions and death, the FDA warns.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, December 2011
• No Evidence of MRI Improving Outcomes in Women With Breast Cancer CME Limited evidence exists that breast cancer screening with MRI is beneficial in decreasing the amount of surgical procedures and lowering the risk for local cancer recurrences.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, December 2011
• CT Colonography Leads to Better Cancer Screening Participation CME More patients participated in computed tomographic colonography vs traditional colonoscopy for cancer screening, according to a new study conducted in the Netherlands.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, November 2011
• Selective UTI Imaging Does Not Increase Recurrence in Children CME Results from a new study show that more selective use of urinary tract imaging after febrile urinary tract infection does not increase the incidence of recurrence in children.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, November 2011
• Comparison Mammography Influences Diagnostic Decisions CME Comparison mammography may help radiologists interpret screening mammography results, but changes seen in the evaluation of new and old studies can negatively influence diagnostic decisions.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, November 2011
• Low-Dose rtPA Hastens Clot Removal in Brain Hemorrhage CME Clot lytic treatment with low-dose recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator speeds clot removal in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage accompanied by intraventricular hemorrhage.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, November 2011
• Lung Cancer Screening Recommendations Issued CME/CE The National Comprehensive Cancer Network has issued lung cancer screening recommendations for select patients at high risk for the disease.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, November 2011
• Shutter-Speed DCE-MRI Results in Improved Breast Imaging CME Shutter-speed vs standard dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging can improve the diagnostic accuracy of breast cancer and reduce unnecessary biopsies.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, November 2011
• Radiotherapy After Breast-Conserving Surgery Reduces Cancer Recurrence CME Long-term data show that radiotherapy can halve recurrence risk and reduce the risk for cancer death in women with breast cancer treated with breast-conserving surgery.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, November 2011
• Chest Radiographic Screening Not Effective in Reducing Lung Cancer Mortality CME Compared with usual care, annual lung cancer screening with a chest radiograph examination did not detect lung cancer or reduce lung cancer mortality risk.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, November 2011
• Study Shows Lower Procedural Radiation Dose in CT-Guided Fluoroscopy CME The procedural effective dose of computed tomography-guided fluoroscopy for epidural steroid injections of the lumbar spine was lower than for the same procedure guided by conventional fluoroscopy.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, October 2011
• Cognitive Tests Predict AD Better Than Biomarkers CME/CE Changes in cognitive function outperformed biomarkers for predicting conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease, but caution should be followed in interpreting these results.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, September 2011
• Efficacy of Oral Analgesics for Adult Postoperative Pain: Review CME/CE The Cochrane review study evaluated multiple studies to assess the efficacy of multiple oral analgesics for acute pain and found 46 drug or dose combinations with reliable evidence.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, September 2011
• Intracranial Stenting Linked With Increased Stroke, Mortality Risk CME Aggressive medical management was more effective in treating patients with intracranial arterial stenosis vs use of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting, which increased stroke risk.
  Medscape Education Clinical Briefs, September 2011