Rethinking the screening mammogram
This study analyzed data from women over 40 and compared the size of breast cancers at the time of diagnosis detected in the 1970s (before mammography became common) with the size of tumors detected between 2000 and 2002, when screening mammography was routine. Treatments and rates of death due to breast cancer 10 years after the diagnosis were also analyzed. The study found that:
As more women underwent routine screening mammograms, more small breast cancers were detected. Many of these tumors were restricted to the ducts within the breast (called ductal carcinoma in situ), and even without treatment would never threaten...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - June 28, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Health Source Type: blogs
What you should know about colon polyps
When it comes to colon cancer prevention, the polyp is the key player to know. Colon polyps, called adenomas, are precancerous growths originating from the inner lining of the colon wall. There are other types of polyps in the colon which are not considered precancerous, but for our purposes in this article, we will consider the terms colon polyp and adenoma to be one and the same.
The red arrow (above) is pointing to the adenomatous polyp. A polyp this size has a good chance of becoming cancer down the road if it is not removed.
Polyps are important to know about because they are the precursors to colon cancer. That is, v...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - March 22, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/frederick-gandolfo" rel="tag" > Frederick Gandolfo, MD < /a > Tags: Conditions Gastroenterology Oncology/Hematology Source Type: blogs
Tropical Travel Trouble 004 Bloody Diarrhoea
LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog LITFL • Life in the Fast Lane Medical Blog - Emergency medicine and critical care medical education blog
aka Tropical Travel Trouble 004
A medical student who has just returned from their elective in Nepal presents with 1 week of bloody diarrhoea. He has been in the lowlands and stayed with a family in the local village he was helping at. It started three days before he left and he decided to get home on the plane in the hope it would settle. He is now opening his bowels 10x a day with associated cramps, fevers and has started feeling dizzy.
Questions:
Q1. What is dysentery ...
Source: Life in the Fast Lane - March 12, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Neil Long Tags: Clinical Cases Tropical Medicine amoebic dysentery bacillary dysentery e.histolytica entamoeba histolytica shigellosis Source Type: blogs
Knowing when to screen … and when to quit
Follow me on Twitter @RobShmerling
Let us sing the praises of good medical screening tests.
These are the tests that can detect medical problems before they become untreatable and before they cause complications or even death. Even better are those screening tests that detect “predisease” — abnormalities that aren’t dangerous on their own but can lead to problems later.
According to the US Preventive Services Task Force, relatively few screening tests are considered good enough to routinely recommend for adults, including
mammography for breast cancer (women)
Pap smear for cervical cancer (women)
bone density test...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - March 1, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Robert H. Shmerling, MD Tags: Cancer Health Prevention Screening Source Type: blogs
Pure-Vu Pre-Colonoscopy Colon Cleansing System EU Cleared
MOTUS GI, an Israeli firm, received European CE Mark of approval for its Pure-Vu colon cleansing system, designed to alleviate the necessity to fast and making sure the colon can be clearly examined. The technology can be important because many patients go in for a colonoscopy without properly cleansing their bowels, resulting in difficulty for the physician to notice any polyps or lesions. Using the Pure-Vu, the clinicians can wash out the insides of the patient and get to examining the colon with impressive clarity.
The Pure-Vu works with most colonoscopes used in practice today and it uses four sprinklers coupled with s...
Source: Medgadget - February 28, 2018 Category: Medical Devices Authors: Editors Tags: GI Source Type: blogs
NYTimes: The Growing Toll of Our Ever-Expanding Waistlines
The Growing Toll of Our Ever-Expanding WaistlinesBy JANE E. BRODY NOV. 13, 2017Paul Rogers I hope you ’re not chomping on a bagel or, worse, a doughnut while you read about what is probably the most serious public health irony of the last half century in this country: As one major killer — smoking — declined, another rose precipitously to take its place: obesity.Many cancer deaths were averted after millions quit lighting up, but they are now rising because even greater numbers are unable to keep their waistlines in check.Today, obesity and smoking remain the two leading causes of preventable dea...
Source: Dr Portnay - November 13, 2017 Category: Cardiology Authors: Dr Portnay Source Type: blogs
Taking an anticlotting drug? If you need a procedure, be prepared
Millions of people with cardiovascular disease take drugs that help prevent blood clots, which can lodge in a vessel and choke off the blood supply to part of a leg, lung, or the brain. These potentially lifesaving medications include warfarin (Coumadin) and a class of drugs called non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants or NOACs. Examples include dabigatran (Pradaxa) and rivaroxaban (Xarelto).
However, if you’re taking one of these drugs and need an invasive procedure — anything from a tooth extraction to a hip replacement — managing the risks can be tricky, says cardiologist Dr. Gregory Piazza, assistant profe...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - November 1, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Julie Corliss Tags: Drugs and Supplements Health Heart Health Surgery anticlotting drug anticlotting drugs Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 54-year-old man with dysphagia
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 54-year-old man is evaluated for a 4-month history of intermittent, nonprogressive solid-food dysphagia. He has a long-standing history of heartburn that has been well controlled with once-daily proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy for the past 5 years. Results of a screening colonoscopy 4 years ago were normal. There is no family history of colorectal cancer.
Physical examination findings are unremarkable.
Upper endoscopy reveals a 3-cm hiatal hernia, an esophageal (Schatzki) ring, and approximately six polyps...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - August 12, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/mksap" rel="tag" > mksap < /a > Tags: Conditions GI Medications Source Type: blogs
MKSAP: 57-year-old woman is evaluated after a recent screening colonoscopy
Test your medicine knowledge with the MKSAP challenge, in partnership with the American College of Physicians.
A 57-year-old woman is evaluated after a recent screening colonoscopy. The colonoscopy disclosed a 12-mm polyp in the ascending colon, which was removed. No other lesions were noted. On pathology, the lesion was found to be a sessile serrated polyp.
Physical examination findings are unremarkable.
Which of the following is the most appropriate time to repeat colonoscopy?
A. 1 year
B. 3 years
C. 5 years
D. 10 years
Continue reading ...
Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputa...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - May 27, 2017 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/mksap" rel="tag" > mksap < /a > Tags: Conditions GI Source Type: blogs
A Health Plan CEO Daydreams
By MICHEL ACCAD, MD
Jim was at his desk, looking weary.
The last few weeks had been brutal. Despite working twelve-hour days, he felt that he had little to show for it. His annual board meeting was to take place the next day, and he expected it to be tense.
With a replacement bill for the ACA about to be voted on, and with Trump in the White House, the situation seemed particularly precarious. The board members had asked him to present a contingency plan, in case things in DC didn’t go well.
As CEO of a major health insurance company, Jim was well aware that business as usual had become unsustainable in his l...
Source: The Health Care Blog - May 4, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized AHCA health reform MICHEL ACCAD repeal and replace Source Type: blogs
Interscope EndoRotor Now Cleared in U.S. as New Way to Remove Colon Lesions
Interscope, a company out of Worcester, MA, landed FDA clearance for its EndoRotor device that, in a single step, dissects, resects, and retrieves mucosal lesions within the GI tract. In the U.S. the device is indicated for use within the colon, shaving off diseased mucosa in conjunction with endoscopic mucosal resectiont (EMR), and sucking up the debris to remove it from the body. These days lesions are typically removed using snares and forceps, tools that in many cases leave pieces of the targeted lesions intact.
The EndoRotor allows for precise targeting of tissues to address incomplete resection.
The EndoRotor provide...
Source: Medgadget - May 4, 2017 Category: Medical Equipment Authors: Editors Tags: GI Source Type: blogs
Reaching Beyond Delivery System Walls To Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening
Conclusion
Screening rates are a product of two factors: offer rates and uptake/completion rates. With our FIT campaign we have made strides in both areas. With tools built into our EHR, we can now identify and offer tests to nearly 100 percent of the eligible population, practically with the touch of a button. At the same time, patient uptake of testing has improved dramatically, despite the fact that FIT screening must be done every year, instead of the five- and ten-year intervals required for sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy, respectively. We believe the increased uptake is a testament to what happens when we “make the ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - March 24, 2017 Category: Health Management Authors: Theodore Levin, Joanne Schottinger and Murray Ross Tags: Featured Health Policy Lab Innovations in Care Delivery Organization and Delivery Population Health capitated payment model Colorectal Cancer Screening electronic health record fecal immunochemical test Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Source Type: blogs
Your First Colonoscopy! What to Expect
Whee! Time for a Tube Up Your Tuchus!image:wikimedia commonsBy Crabby McSlackerSo, some perspective here: for people with serious illnesses who've been through hardcore, painful, debilitating, invasive medical procedures? A colonoscopy is probably child's play. (Although let's be clear, that's just an expression. If your child actually plays this way? We need to talk).But for most people, there's at least a little trepidation. And for many, if statistics are to be believed, that fear is significant enough to skip the procedure entirely! Well sure, it could save your life and all, but really? Do you have to?There are actual...
Source: Cranky Fitness - March 12, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Crabby McSlacker Source Type: blogs
Will Radiologists be Reading Holograms Instead of Images in the Future? The Revolutionary Technology of Holographic Virtual Colonoscopies
Imagine capturing high-definition, detailed images of the human body without being invasive. Emerging technology from University of California San Francisco ’s (UCSF) Imaging Lab might be doing exactly that. Judy Yee, MD, professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, has worked towards developing a virtual holography CTC scan that produces comprehensive holograms of the human anatomy. The virtual holography CTC produces two-thirds less radiation than conventional colonoscopies. The computer-aided detection (CAD) identifies polyps and cancers while reducing the quantity of pre-procedure ...
Source: radRounds - February 11, 2017 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Over-the-Counter FIT Test for Colonic Cancer Looks Effective
A large very number of colonoscopies are performed yearly in the U.S. for cancer screening. For older male non-smokers, colonic cancer ranks with prostate cancer as a major cancer threat (see:Men and Cancer Risk). Here are some specific numbers about the frequency of gastroentestinal endoscopy (see:$4.4 Billion Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Market in the U.S. and Europe Projected for 2020):Gastrointestinal endoscopy is one of the most widely performed medical procedures in the world.It is projected that there will be over 75 million gastrointestinal endoscopic procedures performed in the U.S. and Europe com...
Source: Lab Soft News - January 24, 2017 Category: Laboratory Medicine Authors: Bruce Friedman Tags: Clinical Lab Industry News Clinical Lab Testing Cost of Healthcare Laboratory Industry Trends Medical Consumerism Medical Research Point-of-Care Testing Test Kits and Home Testing Source Type: blogs
