Dear Ultrasound Insider,
In women with suspected breast cancer, the common practice of ultrasound evaluation of the axillary lymph nodes with or without biopsy unfortunately suffers from a significant false-negative rate. But ultrasound elastography can help, according to research presented at the recent European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in Vienna.
A U.K. study team found that the adjunctive use of elastography could reliably demonstrate axillary lymph nodes and differentiate between benign and malignant nodes. The group also believes it could increase the sensitivity for identifying abnormal lymph nodes for biopsy.
Our coverage of the research is the subject of this month's Insider Exclusive, which you have access to before it's published for the rest of our AuntMinnie.com members. To learn more about elastography in the axilla, click here.
In other articles we're featuring this month in your Ultrasound Digital Community, researchers are pointing out that there isn't much evidence to support screening of patients without signs of heart disease using tests such as echocardiography. Find out more here.
And a measure approved by the Texas House of Representatives would force women seeking an abortion to first get an ultrasound. For the details, click here.
A Boston research team also found that retrieving oocytes transabdominally with ultrasound guidance works just as well as the usual transvaginal procedure. You can access that story here.
In other news from ECR, transesophageal echocardiography was shown to be valuable for visualizing subtle aortic tears of the ascending aorta in some patients.
And a New England Journal of Medicine article recently described how ultrasound is now commonly performed at the point of care.
Do you have an idea for a topic you'd like to see covered? As always, please feel free to drop me a line.
