Mobile Mammography Services and Underserved Women.

Breast cancer, the second most common cause of cancer in women, affects people across different ages, ethnicities, and incomes. However, while all women have some risk of breast cancer, studies have found that some populations are more vulnerable to poor breast cancer outcomes. Specifically, women with lower socioeconomic status and of Black and Hispanic ethnicity have been found to have more advanced stages of cancer upon diagnosis. These findings correlate with studies that have found decreased use of screening mammography services in these underserved populations. To alleviate these healthcare disparities, mobile mammography units are well positioned to provide convenient screening services to enable earlier detection of breast cancer. Mobile mammography services have been operating since the 1970s, and, in the current pandemic, they may be extremely helpful. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted necessary screening services, and reinstatement and implementation of accessible mobile screenings may help to alleviate the impact of missed screenings. This review discusses the history and benefits of mobile mammography, especially for underserved women.

Use of systemic lidocaine for postoperative acute pain management in single-lung transplantation: Case report / Lidocaína sistêmica para el tratamiento del dolor agudo posoperatorio en trasplante unipulmonar. Reporte de caso

Abstract Introduction: Lung transplantation is associated with severe pain, which can delay recovery. Systemic lidocaine has useful analgesic properties for managing acute pain; however, little is known on its use after lung transplantation. Due to pharmacological alterations during the postoperative period, the use of analgesics implies a demanding process to avoid toxicity, so lidocaine may play a role in this scenario. In this sense, the purpose of this case report is to present the use of systemic lidocaine as an option for acute pain management when other analgesics fail. Case presentation: The following is the case of a male patient with acute pain in the postoperative period of single-lung transplantation. Opioids and non-opioid analgesics showed limited efficacy, so systematic lidocaine was administered. Systemic administration of lidocaine was effective for pain control, functional recovery, and opioid decrease during the postoperative period. Conclusions: Systemic administration of lidocaine was a useful alternative for achieving optimal postoperative pain management in lung transplantation, since it allowed adequate analgesia and lung function recovery with decreased use of opioids. This drug may be a component of multimodal analgesia in selected patients when other options fail however, its routine use is not recommended.

Resumen Introducción. El trasplante pulmonar se asocia con dolor severo, lo que puede retrasar la recuperación del paciente. La lidocaína sistémica tiene propiedades analgésicas útiles para el manejo del dolor agudo; sin embargo, su uso después del trasplante pulmonar es poco conocido. Debido a las alteraciones farmacológicas durante el período posoperatorio, el uso de analgésicos es un proceso exigente para evitar toxicidad, por lo que la lidocaína puede tener un rol en ese contexto. En este sentido, el objetivo del presente reporte es describir el uso de lidocaína sistémica como una opción para el manejo del dolor cuando otros analgésicos han fallado. Presentación del caso. Paciente masculino con dolor severo en el posoperatorio de un trasplante unipulmonar. El uso de opioides y de analgésicos no opioides mostró una eficacia limitada, por lo que se decidió aplicar lidocaína sistémica, la cual fue efectiva para el control del dolor, la recuperación funcional y la disminución de opioides durante el período posoperatorio. Conclusiones. La lidocaína sistémica fue un fármaco útil para el manejo del dolor posoperatorio del trasplante de pulmón, ya que permitió una analgesia adecuada y una recuperación funcional pulmonar con menor uso de opioides. Este fármaco puede ser parte de la analgesia multimodal en pacientes seleccionados cuando otras opciones analgésicas han fallado; sin embargo, no se recomienda su uso rutinario.

How to establish a cost-effective mobile mammography program.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article is to describe how to establish a cost-effective mobile mammography program on the basis of examples from a 20-year experience with film-screen and digital mammography units. CONCLUSION: Mobile mammography programs can reduce many barriers to breast cancer screening faced by medically underserved women. Finding and maintaining resources, having appropriate equipment and infrastructure, and having a dedicated team with an efficient workflow are the key elements of establishing a cost-effective mobile mammography program.