Radiologic technology
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Crohn disease (often seen in the literature as "Crohn's disease"), an autoimmune disease with debilitating gastrointestinal and extragastrointestinal manifestations, is on the rise in the United States and Europe. This article discusses the disease process, clinical presentation, diagnostic tools, and treatment options for Crohn disease. Statistics regarding disease prevalence and epidemiology also are reported.
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The degree of lung inflation seen on a chest radiograph is dependent on the point during the patient's respiratory cycle at which the radiographer exposes the image receptor. Exposing the image receptor at the exact peak of inflation can be difficult because of the limited time available in which to capture the inspiratory pause. An incentive spirometer can indicate the moment of peak inhalation. This study tested whether images taken with and without an incentive spirometer display different levels of image quality. ⋯ This study introduces a technique to improve the quality of portable chest radiographs. The use of incentive spirometry improved inspiratory depth and image quality for portable chest radiographs.
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Lung cancers, primarily caused by tobacco smoking, are the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States and around the world. Screening of select high-risk patients using low-dose helical computed tomography (LD-CT) has been shown to reduce lung cancer mortality by 20% compared with chest radiography. However, because there are risks to LD-CT lung cancer screening, it should be performed only on current or former tobacco smokers. This article introduces readers to the epidemiology, pathobiology, diagnostic imaging, and diagnosis, staging, and treatment of lung cancer; primary and secondary prevention strategies; LD-CT lung screening parameters; research findings; and resulting practice guidelines.