AJR. American journal of roentgenology
-
AJR Am J Roentgenol · Apr 2014
Improving imaging utilization through practice quality improvement (maintenance of certification part IV): a review of requirements and approach to implementation.
The purposes of this article are to review the American Board of Radiology requirements for practice quality improvement and to describe our approach to improving imaging utilization while offering a guide to implementing similar projects at other institutions, emphasizing the plan-do-study-act approach. ⋯ There is increased emphasis on improving quality in health care. Our institution has undertaken a multiphase practice quality improvement project addressing the appropriate utilization of screening cervical spinal CT in an emergency department.
-
The purposes of this article are to briefly review the history of lung cancer screening, discuss the results and implications of the National Lung Screening Trial, and address some of the questions that remain since the publication of this landmark study. ⋯ Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States and the world. The National Lung Screening Trial showed a 20% reduction in lung cancer mortality among individuals at high risk undergoing low-dose CT. The findings opened the door for clinical lung cancer screening and publication of lung cancer screening guidelines. However, many questions remain, including whom to screen, how often, and for how long. Furthermore, costs and effects on the health care system remain unclear.
-
AJR Am J Roentgenol · Mar 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialEvaluation of low-dose CT angiography with model-based iterative reconstruction after endovascular aneurysm repair of a thoracic or abdominal aortic aneurysm.
The objective of our study was to evaluate image quality and overall adequacy of low-dose CT angiography (CTA) with model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) in patients who had undergone endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) of a thoracic or abdominal aortic aneurysm. ⋯ Low-dose CTA with MBIR enables up to 73% dose reduction as compared with CTA performed with ASIR while maintaining diagnostic adequacy for CTA surveillance of patients who have undergone EVAR of a thoracic or abdominal aortic aneurysm.
-
AJR Am J Roentgenol · Mar 2014
Apparent diffusion coefficient for prostate cancer imaging: impact of B values.
The purpose of this article is to investigate the effect of b values on apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values estimated from 1.5-T diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI) of the prostate acquired with an endorectal coil in distinguishing prostate cancer from normal-tissue regions of interest (ROIs) and the correlation of ADC values with the tumor Gleason score. ⋯ The choice of b values can significantly affect ADC estimates. ADC values can produce a similar discriminant performance in distinguishing prostate cancer from normal-tissue ROIs and in correlation with the Gleason score, but an appropriate ADC cutoff value needs to be selected specifically for each b-value combination.
-
AJR Am J Roentgenol · Mar 2014
Indeterminate lung nodules in cancer patients: pretest probability of malignancy and the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT.
The purpose of this study was to determine likelihood of malignancy for indeterminate lung nodules identified on CT comparing two standardized models with (18)F-FDG PET/CT. ⋯ PET/CT improves stratification of cancer patients with indeterminate pulmonary nodules. A substantial number of patients considered at low and intermediate pretest likelihood of malignancy with histology-proven lung malignancy showed abnormal PET/CT findings.