Computer-assisted diagnosis for an early identification of lung cancer in chest X rays.

Computer-assisted diagnosis (CAD) algorithms have shown its usefulness for the identification of pulmonary nodules in chest x-rays, but its capability to diagnose lung cancer (LC) is unknown. A CAD algorithm for the identification of pulmonary nodules was created and used on a retrospective cohort of patients with x-rays performed in 2008 and not examined by a radiologist when obtained. X-rays were sorted according to the probability of pulmonary nodule, read by a radiologist and the evolution for the following three years was assessed. The CAD algorithm sorted 20,303 x-rays and defined four subgroups with 250 images each (percentiles ≥ 98, 66, 33 and 0). Fifty-eight pulmonary nodules were identified in the ≥ 98 percentile (23,2%), while only 64 were found in lower percentiles (8,5%) (p < 0.001). A pulmonary nodule was confirmed by the radiologist in 39 out of 173 patients in the high-probability group who had follow-up information (22.5%), and in 5 of them a LC was diagnosed with a delay of 11 months (12.8%). In one quarter of the chest x-rays considered as high-probability for pulmonary nodule by a CAD algorithm, the finding is confirmed and corresponds to an undiagnosed LC in one tenth of the cases.

Results of the Spanish National Polytrauma Registry. Where are we and where are we heading?

INTRODUCTION: In 2017, the Spanish National Polytrauma Registry (SNPR) was initiated in Spain with the goal to improve the quality of severe trauma management and evaluate the use of resources and treatment strategies. The objective of this study is to present the data obtained with the SNPR since its inception. METHODS: We conducted an observational study with prospective data collection from the SNPR. The trauma patients included were over 14 years of age, with ISS ≥ 15 or penetrating mechanism of injury, from a total of 17 tertiary hospitals in Spain. RESULTS: From 1/1/17 to 1/1/22, 2069 trauma patients were registered. The majority were men (76.4%), with a mean age of 45 years, mean ISS 22.8, and mortality 10.2%. The most common mechanism of injury was blunt trauma (80%), the most frequent being motorcycle accident (23%). Penetrating trauma was presented in 12% of patients, stab wounds being the most common (84%). On hospital arrival, 16% of patients were hemodynamically unstable. The massive transfusion protocol was activated in 14% of patients, and 53% underwent surgery. Median hospital stay was 11 days, while 73.4% of patients required intensive care unit (ICU) admission, with a median ICU stay of 5 days. CONCLUSIONS: Trauma patients registered in the SNPR are predominantly middle-aged males who experience blunt trauma with a high incidence of thoracic injuries. Early addressed detection and treatment of these kind of injuries would probably improve the quality of trauma care in our environment.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Personalized Breast Cancer Screening (DECIDO Study): A Single-Arm Proof-of-Concept Trial.

The aim of this study was to assess the acceptability and feasibility of offering risk-based breast cancer screening and its integration into regular clinical practice. A single-arm proof-of-concept trial was conducted with a sample of 387 women aged 40-50 years residing in the city of Lleida (Spain). The study intervention consisted of breast cancer risk estimation, risk communication and screening recommendations, and a follow-up. A polygenic risk score with 83 single nucleotide polymorphisms was used to update the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium risk model and estimate the 5-year absolute risk of breast cancer. The women expressed a positive attitude towards varying the frequency of breast screening according to individual risk and, especially, more frequently inviting women at higher-than-average risk. A lower intensity screening for women at lower risk was not as welcome, although half of the participants would accept it. Knowledge of the benefits and harms of breast screening was low, especially with regard to false positives and overdiagnosis. The women expressed a high understanding of individual risk and screening recommendations. The participants' intention to participate in risk-based screening and satisfaction at 1-year were very high.

Influence of using recommended radiological criteria on MDCT-angiography diagnosis of single isolated subsegmental pulmonary embolism.

OBJECTIVES: We assessed the rate of false-positive diagnoses of MDCT-pulmonary angiography (MDCT-A) in patients with single isolated subsegmental pulmonary embolism (SISSPE). METHODS: All patients who underwent MDCT-A between 2006 and 2017 for ruling out acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and received an initial diagnosis of SISSPE were included. The MDCT-A of these patients were reviewed retrospectively by four experienced thoracic radiologists, who applied radiological criteria recommended by the American College of Chest Physicians Antithrombotic Guidelines (ACCP 2016) for the diagnosis of SISSPE. Data extracted from medical records were history of venous thromboembolism (VTE), alternative diagnoses, other diagnostic studies for VTE, anticoagulation, bleeding complications, and VTE over the following 3 months. RESULTS: Of 3839 patients undergoing MDCT-A, PE was found in 1021 (26.6%) and SISSPE in 59 (1.5% overall and 5.8% of all patients with PE). An alternative diagnosis to PE was made on the basis of CT in 33 (55.9%) patients. Forty-one (69.5%) patients received anticoagulants, and major life-threatening bleeding complications occurred in 2, with one death. Recurrent PE was not documented in any patient with SISSPE. In the retrospective assessment of the 59 cases of SISSPE, 21 were negative for PE, with a false-positive rate of 35.6% (21/59); so the percentage of SISSPE cases after the revision was 3.7% of all patients with PE; 11 of these 21 patients received anticoagulation. CONCLUSIONS: Radiologists should be aware of the high rate of false-positives when making the diagnosis of SISSPE on MDCT-A without using strict diagnostic criteria. Misdiagnosis exposes patients to unnecessary anticoagulation. KEY POINTS: • Radiologist should be aware of the high rate of false-positive diagnoses of single isolated subsegmental pulmonary embolism (SISSPE) in MDCT-pulmonary angiography (MDCT-A) performed for ruling out pulmonary embolism. • Misdiagnosis of SISSPE in MDCT-A can be reduced by using strict diagnostic radiological criteria recommended by the American College of Chest Physicians Antithrombotic Guidelines. • Unnecessary anticoagulation therapy with potential severe bleeding complications may result from misdiagnosis of SISSPE.

Feasibility and acceptability of personalised breast cancer screening (DECIDO study): protocol of a single-arm proof-of-concept trial.

INTRODUCTION: Personalised cancer screening aims to improve benefits, reduce harms and being more cost-effective than age-based screening. The objective of the DECIDO study is to assess the acceptability and feasibility of offering risk-based personalised breast cancer screening and its integration in regular clinical practice in a National Health System setting. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The study is designed as a single-arm proof-of-concept trial. The study sample will include 385 women aged 40-50 years resident in a primary care health area in Spain. The study intervention consists of (1) a baseline visit; (2) breast cancer risk estimation; (3) a second visit for risk communication and screening recommendations based on breast cancer risk and (4) a follow-up to obtain the study outcomes.A polygenic risk score (PRS) will be constructed as a composite likelihood ratio of 83 single nucleotide polymorphisms. The Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium risk model, including age, race/ethnicity, family history of breast cancer, benign breast disease and breast density will be used to estimate a preliminary 5-year absolute risk of breast cancer. A Bayesian approach will be used to update this risk with the PRS value.The primary outcome measures will be attitude towards, intention to participate in and satisfaction with personalised breast cancer screening. Secondary outcomes will include the proportions of women who accept to participate and who complete the different phases of the study. The exact binomial and the Student's t-test will be used to obtain 95% CIs. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study protocol was approved by the Drug Research Ethics Committee of the University Hospital Arnau de Vilanova. The trial will be conducted in compliance with this study protocol, the Declaration of Helsinki and Good Clinical Practice.The results will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and disseminated in scientific conferences and media. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT03791008.

Incidence of airway complications in patients using endotracheal tubes with continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions.

BACKGROUND: Continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions is effective in preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia, but it involves a risk of mucosal damage. The main objective of our study was to determine the incidence of airway complications related to continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions. METHODS: In consecutive adult patients with continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions, we prospectively recorded clinical airway complications during the period after extubation. A multidetector computed tomography of the neck was performed during the period of 5 days following extubation to classify subglottic and tracheal lesions as mucosal thickening, cartilage thickening or deep ulceration. RESULTS: In the 86 patients included in the study, 6 (6.9%) had transient dyspnea, 7 (8.1%) had upper airway obstruction and 18 (20.9%) had dysphonia at extubation. Univariate analysis identified more attempts required for intubation (2.3 ± 1.1 vs. 1.2 ± 0.5; p = 0.001), difficult intubation (71.4 vs. 10.1%, p = 0.001) and Cormack score III-IV (71.4 vs. 8.8%; p < 0.001) as risk factors for having an upper airway obstruction at extubation. The incidence of failed extubation among patients after planned extubation was 18.9% and 11 patients (12.7%) required tracheostomy. A multidetector computed tomography was performed in 37 patients following extubation, and injuries were observed in 9 patients (24.3%) and classified as tracheal injuries in 2 patients (1 cartilage thickening and 1 mild stenosis with cartilage thickening) and as subglottic mucosal thickenings in 7 patients. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of upper airway obstruction after extubation in patients with continuous aspiration of subglottic secretions was 8.1%, and the injuries observed by computed tomography were not severe and located mostly in subglottic space.

Imaging findings in pulmonary vasculitis.

Vasculitis is a destructive inflammatory process affecting blood vessels. Pulmonary vasculitis may develop secondary to other conditions or constitute a primary idiopathic disorder. Thoracic involvement is most common in primary idiopathic large-vessel vasculitides (Takayasu arteritis, giant cell arteritis, Behçet disease) and primary antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody-associated small-vessel vasculitides (Wegener granulomatosis, microscopic polyangiitis, Churg-Strauss syndrome). Primary pulmonary vasculitides are rare, and their signs and symptoms are nonspecific, overlapping with those of infections, connective tissue diseases, and malignancies. The radiologic findings in primary pulmonary vasculitis vary widely and can include vessel wall thickening, nodular or cavitary lesions, ground-glass opacities, and consolidations, among others. Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage usually results from primary small-vessel vasculitis in the lungs. To diagnose vasculitis, medical teams must recognize characteristic combinations of clinical, radiologic, laboratory, and histopathologic features.

When to suspect pulmonary vasculitis: radiologic and clinical clues.

Vasculitis is an inflammatory destructive process affecting blood vessels. Pulmonary vasculitis may be secondary to other conditions or constitute a primary, and in most cases idiopathic, disorder. Underlying conditions in the secondary vasculitides are infectious diseases, connective tissue diseases, malignancies, and hypersensitivity disorders. The most widely used approach to classifying the primary vasculitides is based on the size of the affected vessels (large, medium, small). Thoracic involvement is most commonly seen with primary idiopathic large-vessel vasculitides (Takayasu arteritis, giant cell arteritis, Behçet disease) and primary small-vessel antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (Wegener granulomatosis, microscopic polyangiitis, Churg-Strauss syndrome). The radiologic manifestations of primary pulmonary vasculitis are extremely variable and include vessel wall thickening, nodular or cavitary lesions, ground-glass opacities, and consolidations. Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage is a clinical syndrome that usually results from primary small-vessel vasculitis in the lungs. Although chest radiography is often the first imaging study performed in patients with pulmonary involvement by vasculitis, chest radiographs often fail to show the exact pattern and extent of thoracic involvement and CT is more useful in assessment of the thoracic findings. The pulmonary primary vasculitides are rare disorders, and their diagnoses are among the most demanding challenges in medicine because their signs and symptoms are nonspecific and overlap with those of infections, connective tissue diseases, and malignancies; thus, diagnosis of vasculitis relies on recognition of characteristic combinations of particular clinical, radiologic, laboratory, and histopathologic features.

CT diagnosis of chronic pulmonary thromboembolism.

Chronic pulmonary thromboembolism is mainly a consequence of incomplete resolution of pulmonary thromboembolism. Increased vascular resistance due to obstruction of the vascular bed leads to pulmonary hypertension. Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension is clearly more common than previously was thought, and misdiagnosis is common because patients often present with nonspecific symptoms related to pulmonary hypertension. Computed tomography (CT) is a useful alternative to conventional angiography not only for diagnosing chronic pulmonary thromboembolism but also for determining which cases are treatable with surgery and confirming technical success postoperatively. The vascular CT signs include direct pulmonary artery signs (complete obstruction, partial obstruction, eccentric thrombus, calcified thrombus, bands, webs, poststenotic dilatation), signs related to pulmonary hypertension (enlargement of main pulmonary arteries, atherosclerotic calcification, tortuous vessels, right ventricular enlargement, hypertrophy), and signs of systemic collateral supply (enlargement of bronchial and nonbronchial systemic arteries). The parenchymal signs include scars, a mosaic perfusion pattern, focal ground-glass opacities, and bronchial anomalies. The presence of one or more of these radiologic signs arouses suspicion and allows diagnosis of this entity. Early recognition of chronic pulmonary thromboembolism may help improve the outcome, since the condition is potentially curable with pulmonary thromboendarterectomy.

[Are our university students eating properly?]. / Se alimentan correctamente nuestros jóvenes universitarios?

The feeding habits practiced by a society are a good indicator for the possible appearance of specific pathologies, some as common as obesity of hypertension. Nursing professionals have the difficult task of attempting to modify the harmful habits acquired during childhood by following the family feeding patterns and those habits acquire as each individual grows up due to the influences of his/her surroundings, such as fads and advertising. A health industry professional must practice what he/she preaches; you can not promote healthy living habits if you do not practice these oneself. For this reason, the authors have studied the feeding habits, along with some unhealthy living habits, such as a sedentary lifestyle or smoking, of 300 first year nursing students in Catalonia in 2001-2002 since they will be the ones responsible for promoting healthy lifestyles among the general population.

CT in nontraumatic acute thoracic aortic disease: typical and atypical features and complications.

Thoracic aortic dissection is the most frequent cause of aortic emergency, and unless it is rapidly diagnosed and treated, the result is death. Helical computed tomography (CT) permits the diagnosis of acute aortic dissection with a sensitivity and specificity of nearly 100%. This imaging modality also enables differentiation between proximal aortic dissection (type A in the Stanford classification) and distal aortic dissection (Stanford type B), which are treated differently and have different prognoses. In 70% of patients in whom nontraumatic acute thoracic aortic dissection is diagnosed after evaluation with helical CT, scans show the typical signs of aortic dissection, with rupture and displacement of the intima. CT also can depict other pathologic entities with similar clinical manifestations, such as intramural hematoma and penetrating atherosclerotic ulcer. Awareness of the different radiologic appearances of these disease entities is essential for differential diagnosis. More than one-third of patients with aortic dissection show signs and symptoms indicative of systemic involvement. Because branch-vessel involvement may increase morbidity and mortality, in this group of patients it is important to evaluate the entire aorta so as to determine the distal extent of the dissection and detect any systemic involvement.

Laser helio neon en el tratamiento del dolor articular temporomandibular / Helium laser in the treatment of temporomandibular joint pain

Se presenta un estudio en 30 pacientes con diagnóstico de síndrome dolor disfunción temporomandibular de causa articular que fueron organizados en 3 grupos, según el tratamiento recibido. Grupo A: tratamiento con medicamentos ; grupo B :tratamiento con radiación láser helioneón: Grupo C: tratamiento combinado de medicamentos y radiación láser helioneón. Se comparan los resultados obtenidos en cada grupo de estudio; se observa mayor efectividad y permanencia del efecto analgésico logrado con la radiación láser helioneón y la combinación de fármacos con helioneón