Dear AuntMinnie Member,
The American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) annual meeting just wrapped up in New York City, where Senior Editor Erik L. Ridley was on hand filing reports for our Ultrasound Community.
One of the most thought-provoking presentations at AIUM 2016 was a session on Friday in which Dr. Alfred Abuhamad from Eastern Virginia Medical School queried whether the prospect of a safe labor and delivery was largely a privilege of the well to do. He examined high rates of maternal death in the developing world, but believes that better access to ultrasound could be a possible solution.
In a Saturday morning session, Dr. Joseph Pare from Yale University discussed the use of focused cardiac ultrasound to diagnose thoracic aortic dissection, while on Sunday Dr. Stamatia Destounis described how her facility, Elizabeth Wende Breast Care, saw a big improvement in the effectiveness of ultrasound for screening women with dense breasts in its second year after starting a screening program.
Finally, Dr. Ethan Halpern from Thomas Jefferson University on Monday shared his institution's experience in using ultrasound to guide biopsy of high-grade prostate cancer. Click here to learn more, or visit the Ultrasound Community at ultrasound.auntminnie.com.
Fewer CT screening scans for smokers
Despite the demonstrated effectiveness of CT lung cancer screening, we're still trying to figure out exactly who should get screened and how often. A study published last week offers a controversial proposal: that screening can be curtailed in high-risk smokers after an initial negative scan.
When researchers looked at data from more than 19,000 participants in the National Lung Screening Trial, they found that the odds of detecting lung cancer in heavy smokers -- those with smoking histories over 30 pack-years -- dropped dramatically in individuals who had a negative initial scan.
The results indicate that screening could be dialed back in some individuals, reducing false positives and follow-up expenses, according to the authors. Learn more by clicking here, or visit the CT Community at ct.auntminnie.com.
