An innovative fusion of MRI and ultrasound might be a better way to detect and assess prostate cancer, while helping men avoid unnecessary biopsies, researchers say.
The technology blends real-time imaging from both MRI and ultrasound devices, allowing doctors to more accurately direct the biopsy needle that draws cell samples from suspected tumours.
Results from a study presented at The International Liver Congress 2015 demonstrate that the use of a pocket-sized ultrasound device (PUD) helps to reduce the need for further testing in both the inpatient and outpatient setting.
The study evaluated the effectiveness of the PUD when testing for the following conditions: biliary-duct dilation, gallstones, ascites, splenomegaly, pleural effusion, pericardial effusion, urinary retention, urinary stones, abdominal mass and aortic aneurysm.
PUDs offer a comparable performance to standard ultrasonography, however the accuracy of a physical examination is often poor meaning that further tests are required. This study assessed whether adding the use of PUD to physical examination could lead to a reduction in the rate of additional tests.
Of the 1,962 patients included in the study:
726 (37%) were inpatients, 510 (26%) were hepatology outpatients and 726 (37%) were recruited from GPs
Gallstones (37%), ascites – excessive accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity (17%), pleural effusion (13%), urinary stones (13%) and urinary retention (12%) accounted for more than 90% of the clinical questions, confirmed by PUD in 66% of cases
The overall frequency of further tests needed after PUD was 37%
The rate of agreement between findings of the PUD and additional tests was 89%
This study found that after basic training, the use of a PUD offers a simple and effective way to improve the accuracy of diagnosis and reduce the number of tests a patient needs.
EurekAlert
People with a common form of hearing loss not helped by hearing aids achieved significant and sometimes profound improvements in their hearing and understanding of speech with hybrid cochlear implant devices, according to a new multicenter study led by specialists at NYU Langone Medical Center.
In the study researchers at 10 medical centres and private clinics in the United States implanted hybrid cochlear implants into one ear of 50 men and women. All study volunteers had badly damaged high-frequency, inner-ear hair cells, which prevented them from understanding speech, especially in the presence of background noise. All still had sufficient low-frequency hearing, which allowed them to tell apart some sounds and forestalled any use of a regular cochlear implant.
A year after receiving the device, 45 study participants showed overall improvement in their hearing and speech recognition, and no one
Withholding angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) for longer than two days after surgery is associated with a significantly increased risk of postoperative death, according to a study of more than 30,000 patients in the VA health care system by researchers at UC San Francisco and the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).
ARBs are prescribed for high blood pressure, heart disease and kidney disease, explained lead author Susan M. Lee, MD, an SFVAMC anesthesiologist and UCSF clinical instructor.
The transition from extensive use of intravenous (IV) sedation for interventional pain procedures to almost exclusive use of oral anxiolysis at an outpatient pain centre led to significant improvements in patient satisfaction and recovery times, a new study shows.
But not all practitioners are on board with such a policy, citing potential safety issues.
By age 60, more than 50 percent of men in the United States suffer from benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), a condition that leads to annoying changes in urinary flow. While medical therapy is usually the first line of treatment, a new minimally invasive implant can dramatically reduce symptoms for men.
A therapy that replaces the faulty gene responsible for cystic fibrosis in patients’ lungs has produced encouraging results in a major UK trial.
One hundred and thirty six patients aged 12 and over received monthly doses of either the therapy or the placebo for one year.
The clinical trial reached its primary endpoint with patients who received therapy having a significant, if modest benefit in lung function compared with those receiving a placebo.
Patients from across England and Scotland participated, and were treated in two centres, Royal Brompton Hospital in London and the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh.
The trial is the first to show that repeated doses of gene therapy can have a meaningful effect on the disease, and change the lung function of patients. However, the team say more research is needed to improve the effectiveness before the therapy will be suitable for clinical use. Imperial College London
The first definitive summary of the best and safest treatments for kidney disease and diabetes patients has been compiled by Christchurch doctor and researcher Associate Professor Suetonia Palmer.
The University of Otago, Christchurch researcher together with a global team used innovative statistical analysis to compare hundreds of research studies on the effectiveness of blood-pressure-lowering drugs for patients with kidney disease and diabetes. The result: a one-stop-shop, evidence-based guide on which drugs are safe and effective.
Diabetes and high blood pressure are the most common causes of kidney disease around the world, and people often have both. Chronic kidney disease caused by diabetes always affects both kidneys and generally gets worse over time, often leading to kidney failure requiring dialysis treatment or a kidney transplant.
Associate Professor Palmer says this study is important because diabetes and kidney disease are at epidemic proportions in New Zealand. A common treatment for those with diabetes and kidney disease is blood-pressure-lowering drugs. The aim of these drugs is to prevent kidney damage.
However, doctors and patients face a bewildering array of treatment options as there are many drugs available to lower blood pressure, many used in combination. There are also hundreds of research studies done on the effectiveness of drugs or combinations of drugs. It is not possible for people to identify the best available treatments without scientific advances such as this study.
Associate Professor Palmer works as a nephrologist, or kidney specialist, at the Canterbury District Health Board and commonly sees first-hand how confusing the wide range of treatment options can be for patients, and those who treat them.
Her paper is the first to compare all drug options, and combinations of commonly used drugs, against each other.
Maquet and GE Healthcare are announcing they are developing together a new flexible angiography hybrid OR solution. The combined system for surgical procedures and catheter-based interventions will consist of the angiography system Discovery IGS 730 (GE) and the Magnus operating table system (Maquet). Besides its high-precision imaging technology, the differentiating feature of the Discovery IGS 730 is its unique mobility. With its laser-guided, mobile gantry, it can be conveniently positioned throughout the OR with high predictability to provide the medical team with full patient access. The Discovery IGS 730 enables using both left and right customizable parking locations in a single room for an excellent patient access during either left or right access procedures. Its mobile design allows more flexibility in the implantation of ceiling suspended elements such as laminar flow and booms. The Discovery IGS 730 also offers all features of a premium angiography system. It enables high-quality 2D imagery, as well as 3D rotational angiography and multimodality 3D Fusion with outstanding opportunities for minimally invasive therapy.
The Magnus operating table is a full-fledged, versatile OR table that meets all requirements of surgeons and interventional physicians. It has a
Surgeons could know while their patients are still on the operating table if a tissue is cancerous, according to researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Brigham and Women
April 2024
Beukenlaan 137
5616 VD Eindhoven
The Netherlands
+31 85064 55 82
info@interhospi.com
PanGlobal Media IS not responsible for any error or omission that might occur in the electronic display of product or company data.