Dear AuntMinnie.com Member,
Could cardiac MRI become a first-line triage tool for patients presenting to the emergency room with chest pain? Researchers from the National Institutes of Health say that cardiac MRI is both sensitive and specific in detecting acute coronary syndrome in such patients, according to an article we’re featuring this week in our MRI Digital Community.
NIH researchers examined 161 ER patients with chest pain, conducting scans at rest within 12 hours of presentation. All of the patients had pain consistent with myocardial ischemia, but no EKG evidence of infarction.
Cardiac MRI tallied a sensitivity of 84% and a specificity of 85% in detecting acute coronary syndrome; strict ECG criteria for ischemia had higher specificity, but no other test had a higher sensitivity. You can view the article at mri.auntminnie.com.
Another article we're featuring this week, in our Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community, notes that the U.S. Multisociety Task Force on Colorectal Cancer has recommended lengthening the follow-up period for patients who have had two or fewer small polyps removed in conventional colonoscopy.
These patients could forego reexamination for as long as five years, freeing limited colorectal cancer screening resources in favor of initial screening. The recommendations represent much-needed guidance that virtual colonoscopy providers and others can use to direct their manpower, money, and technical resources toward saving the greatest number of lives. Go to vc.auntminnie.com for the whole story.
Finally, we’d like to thank everyone who participated in last month’s SalaryScan Survey -- more than 4,500 radiology professionals filled out the survey on compensation and benefits packages. We’re currently processing the results, and we’ll be posting them in our Job Boards at jobs.auntminnie.com.
