Weekly Error Report for 4/28/2008 – 5/4/2008
There were no errors for our office reported to us for the dates listed above. IMPORTANT REMINDERS: Please be sure to include the tech worksheet with all paperwork sent back in the lab kit. Increase the number of kits bundled per pouch. When sending a copy to be imaged attach the […]
Misdiagnoses Caused in Part by Overconfidence
Most of the time a medical diagnosis is on point. But misdiagnoses do occur, and an overly confident doctor may be partly to blame, a new review suggests. The rate of diagnostic error is as high as 15%, Eta S. Berner, EdD, and Mark L. Graber, MD, write in a special edition of The American […]
Researchers Point to Flaws in Recent Cancer Studies
Observational studies of treatment outcomes must be viewed with caution, investigators urge. In a report published online April 21 in Cancer, researchers showed that selection bias continues to be a major problem in observational data. “The strong yet implausible treatment effects observed in our analyses should reinforce the caution and modesty of all investigators assessing […]
Immunotherapeutic Reduces Risk for Relapse After Lung Cancer Surgery
In a phase 2 trial of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer, an immunotherapeutic reduced the risk for relapse after lung cancer surgery to the same extent as has been seen with chemotherapy, but with far fewer adverse events. The product, known as MAGE-A3 antigen-specific cancer immunotherapeutic (ASCI), is being developed by GlaxoSmithKline in Belgium. “This […]
Religion Should Be Considered in Using Porcine and Bovine Surgical Products
Patients of Jewish, Muslim, and Hindu faiths may not accept the use of porcine or bovine products during surgical procedures and, therefore, surgeons should make it very clear in the informed consent process whether such products may be used, Australian researchers report. “As part of respecting a patient’s autonomy, surgeons need to understand worldwide religious […]
U.S. Supreme Court issues opinion regarding lethal injection
On Wednesday, April 16, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion affirming the Kentucky State Supreme Court’s opinion that Kentucky’s lethal injection protocol does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Supreme Court Opinion ASA amicus brief
What Every Physician Should Know About the RUC
Introduction To paraphrase Winston Churchill, never have so many physicians and other health care professionals owed so much to so few. The “few” in this case are the 29 members of the American Medical Association/Specialty Society Relative Value Scale Update Committee, or RUC (rhymes with “truck”) for short. The RUC’s recommendations to the Centers for […]
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Breast Cancer Guideline, Version 2.2008
Medscape Hematology-Oncology™ is pleased to present the latest update to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Breast Cancer Guideline, Version 2.2008, released in January 2008. The updated Guideline, available on Medscape, was developed by a panel of 26 multidisciplinary breast cancer experts from NCCN Member Institutions. The panel met for 2 days in August 2007 […]
Weekly Error Report for 4/21/2008 – 4/27/2008
There were no errors for our office reported to us for the dates listed above. IMPORTANT REMINDERS: Please be sure to include the tech worksheet with all paperwork sent back in the lab kit. Increase the number of kits bundled per pouch. When sending a copy to be imaged attach the Tech Worksheet and mark […]
Arterial Blood Gas Sampling
Ramaz Mitaishvili, MD RM Global Health Alternative names Arterial Blood Gas Analysis; ABG Sampling. Outcome Goal Proper collection of arterial blood samples. Arterial Blood Gas Test Definition Blood is drawn anaerobically from a peripheral artery (Radial, Brachial, Ulnar, Femoral, Axillary, Posterior Tibial or Dorsalis Pedis) via a single […]