Topic

Chest Pain


AHA statement: CCTA has triage niche in chest pain patients

Top Stories | Thursday, August 26 2010
With the advent of 64-slice CT, coronary CT angiography (CCTA) exams of low-risk patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain are feasible given the nearly 100 percent negative predictive value of the test, according to a scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) published in the Aug. 17 issue of Circulation.
 

JACC: New SPECT agent could detect patients with acute coronary syndrome

Clinical Studies | Monday, July 19 2010
The addition of Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals’ Zemiva imaging data to initially available clinical information contributes to the early diagnosis and evaluation of myocardial ischemia and acute coronary syndrome, according to a Phase 2 clinical trial published in the July 20 edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).
 

Study: Cardiac MR in the ER trims hospital admissions, costs

Clinical Studies | Friday, June 25 2010
Imaging with stress cardiac MRI in an observation unit can reduce incident cost without missing acute coronary syndrome in patients with emergent chest pain when compared to inpatient care, according to a study published online May 31 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
 

Radiology: CT angiography proves cost-effective in chest pain diagnosis strategy

Clinical Studies | Wednesday, March 10 2010
A coronary CT angiography-only approach -- when factoring in a $20,000 threshold level for cost per correct diagnosis and $50,000 per quality-adjusted life-year -- is the most cost-effective diagnostic strategy for the evaluation of patients presenting with stable chest pain without known coronary artery disease (CAD) with intermediate CAD prevalence, according to a decision analysis study published in the March issue of Radiology.
 

ACC.10: Clinical Path to Quality Improvement

Features | Tuesday, March 02 2010
Written by Justine Cadet
With the plethora of clinical data emerging at this month’s American College of Cardiology annual meeting, the sessions are seeking to provide clinicians and administrators with methods to improve the quality of evidence-based care.
 

AEM: Patients with CAC score of zero should be sent home

Clinical Studies | Thursday, February 11 2010
A majority of patients (61 percent) evaluated for chest pain of uncertain cardiac cause have a coronary artery calcium (CAC) score of zero, which predicts both a normal SPECT result and an excellent short-term outcome, according to a single-center study published online Feb. 8 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.
 

Study: Nonspecific chest pain leads to unnecessary diagnostic testing

Clinical Studies | Tuesday, February 09 2010
Approximately half of all patients presenting with nonspecific chest pain are not provided symptom relief by way of standard medical care and every tenth patient with persistent chest pain shows signs of overinvestigation by physicians, while psychological investigations are rarely given, said a study published in the Feb. 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
 

GE licenses cellular imaging technology from Wisconsin med school

Partnerships & Alliances | Sunday, January 03 2010
GE Healthcare has licensed a new molecular imaging technology aimed at diagnosis of cell death in organs such as the brain and heart from the Medical College of Wisconsin.
 

RSNA: New automated CCTA software may be useful in triaging ED patients

Conference News | Monday, November 30 2009
Written by Justine Cadet
CHICAGO—Negative results from an automated coronary CT angiography (CCTA) reader may be useful for triaging emergency department (ED) patients, based on a study presented Monday at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference. Conversely, the researchers determined that positive automated results require further interpretation by an experienced reader.
 

AJC: CCTA accurately, inexpensively diagnoses chest pain out to 3 years

Clinical Studies | Friday, August 28 2009
In a real-world, clinical setting, the negative predictive value of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) in low-risk patients is very high and "exceptionally helpful" in predicting freedom from events for up to three years, according to a study in the Aug. 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology .
 

AJC: CCTA proves more effective, less expensive than coronary angiography

Clinical Studies | Wednesday, August 12 2009
In a real-world clinical setting, the negative predictive value of 64-slice coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is very high and helpful in predicting freedom from events for up to three years, according to a study in the Aug. 15 issue of the American Journal of Cardiology. The researchers also found cost-savings benefits associated with CCTA.
 

SCCT Feature: Poll reveals changes in perceived cardiac CT appropriateness

Top Stories | Wednesday, July 22 2009
Since the Appropriateness Criteria for cardiac CT (CCT) was published in 2006, the modality has experienced rapid growth in technology and clinical use. When the American College of Cardiology (ACC) formally reviews the criteria next year, there might be room to add more indications to the "appropriate" category, including the "triple rule-out" exam, according to a study presented at the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) meeting in Orlando, Fla., last week.
 

AJR: Cardiac CT reduces costs, hospital stay for low-risk patients with chest pain

Clinical Studies | Friday, July 10 2009
The use of cardiac CT for low-risk chest pain patients in the emergency department--instead of the traditional standard-of-care workup--may reduce a patient's length of stay and hospital charges, according to a single-center study in the July issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
 

AJR: Prospective ECG triggering, not retrospective gating, may lower CT dose

Clinical Studies | Thursday, May 21 2009
For long-z-axis whole-chest 64-multidetector CT of emergency department patients with nonspecific chest pain, the use of prospective ECG triggering may result in substantially lower patient radiation doses and better coronary artery image quality than is achieved with retrospective ECG gating, according to a study in the June issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
 

SAEM: CCTA delivers speedy, economical ED chest pain diagnosis

Clinical Studies | Friday, May 15 2009
Examining emergency department (ED) chest pain patients with coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is a quick and economical way to rule out serious cardiovascular disease, according to a study presented today at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine's annual conference in New Orleans.
 

Cardiac CT cost-effective for screening low-risk angina patients

Top Stories | Monday, April 27 2009
Using cardiac CT in the emergency department to diagnose low-risk patients with chest pain is 44 percent less expensive than the standard of care and can decrease the length of stay up to 20 hours, according to a study presented today in Boston at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society.
 

SPECT imaging agent with ‘ischemic memory’ shows positive Phase 2 data

Industry News | Tuesday, April 21 2009
Zemiva, a molecular imaging radiopharmaceutical, in combination with initial clinical information in patients suspected of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), resulted in significantly improved sensitivity compared to the sensitivity of the initial clinical diagnosis alone, while maintaining specificity, according to a Phase 2 trial sponsored by manufacturer Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals.
 

Heart panel cautions against indiscriminate cardiac imaging

Top Stories | Wednesday, February 04 2009
The risk of potentially harmful effects from ionizing radiation is low at the radiation dose levels used in cardiac imaging exams; however, because the exact level of risk is unknown, people without symptoms of heart disease should think carefully about undergoing these exams, according to an advisory panel’s recommendations in the Feb. 2 online issue of Circulation.
 
Web Exclusives

Feature: U.S. needs national strategy to curb imaging overutilization

Medical imaging overutilization--a growing concern in the U.S.--exposes patients to unnecessary radiation, while also adding to rising healthcare costs, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Radiology. In an interview, William R. Hendee, PhD, lead author, reviewed various methods by which medical imaging could be curtailed.

Radiology: Prelim study shows CE breast CT outperforms CT, mammo

Dedicated contrast-enhanced (CE) breast CT delivered significantly improved conspicuity of malignant breast lesions, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), compared with unenhanced breast CT and mammography, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology.

Radiology: Rad role may evolve as image-guided biopsies trend up

CT, ultrasound and MRI have helped shift biopsy techniques away from more invasive approaches toward image-guided percutaneous techniques, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology. The trend toward less-invasive approaches translates into enhanced safety and efficiency and could lead to more interaction between patients and radiologists.

CMS Webinar: Incentive payments to offset EHR adoption, not reimburse

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) EHR incentive payments are not considered reimbursement for money expended on EHR technology, but are intended to offset the cost associated with adoption and ongoing meaningful use, according to CMS during an Aug. 12 webinar.

CMS webinar: Eligible professionals can expect EHR incentives in 2011

Funding incentives for EHR use is the main goal of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) meaningful use initiative, and there are incentive programs for both hospitals and eligible professionals, according to Elizabeth Holland, health insurance specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services, who spoke during a CMS-sponsored webinar Aug. 8.

Webinar: Stage 1 of meaningful use is for quality reporting acclimation

Stage 1 requirements for meaningful use incentives aim to strike a balance between the overall goal of EHR use and widespread adoption, while avoiding added work, said Jonathan Teich, MD, PhD, chief medical informatics officer at Elsevier Health Services, during a HIMSS webinar titled “Meaningful Use: Safety and Quality of Care.”

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