Popular Articles

Government Focus On Acute Stroke May Compromise Other Areas Of Stroke Care
The focus on acute stroke in the UK government"s national stroke strategy may distract attention and res from other important elements of stroke care, warn experts in a paper published on bmj.com today.

NMC Statement: Misleading Information In Nursing Standard
This week Nursing Standard published some misleading and speculative information regarding the NMC"s registration fee. The story, titled "Registration fees could increase as regulator goes into black", also included factually inaccurate information about the NMC"s diversity data collection exercise which will soon be launched.
News of the day
Mayo Clinic Proceedings: A Comprehensive Review Of Addiction To Prescription Painkillers Among Patients And Physicians
Chemical dependency and recovery in patients and physicians are closely examined in a series of articles and editorials in the July 2009 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The subject is especially timely. As the immense challenges, including potential tragedies, of prescription chemical addiction and abuse are being discussed, these articles offer crucial overview, direction and optimism.
Endocrinology

Ultrasound Outperforms Symptom Analysis In Detecting Ovarian Cancer

Doctors at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center-Markey Cancer Center compared symptom analysis to ultrasound in predicting ovarian cancer. They selected 272 women participating in annual trans-vaginal screening (TVS) from 31,748 women enrolled in a free screening project at the university, comparing symptom results to ultrasound and surgical pathology findings. They found TVS performed better than symptoms analysis for detecting malignancies (73.3% versus 20% sensitivity). While symptoms analysis performed better for distinguishing benign tumors (91.3% versus 74.4% specificity), adding symptom analysis to TVS actually resulted in poorer identification of malignancy (sensitivity = 16.7%), even as it improved the ability to distinguish benign tumors (specificity = 97.9%). The authors say the data indicates that while symptoms do identify ovarian malignancies, they are not as accurate as TVS. They add that informative symptoms can be expected to be absent in 80 percent of ovarian malignancies. Article: "The Search for Meaning - Symptoms & TVS Screening." Edward J. Pavlik, Brook A. Saunders, Stacey Doran, Katherine W. McHugh, Frederick R. Ueland, Christopher P. DeSimone, Paul D. DePriest, Rachel A. Ware, Richard J. Kryscio, and John R. van Nagell, Jr. CANCER; Published Online: July 13, 2009 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24407); Print Issue Date: August 15, 2009 Editorial: "The search for meaning-symptoms and TVS screening for ovarian cancer - Silent no more." Ilana Cass, M.D. CANCER; Published Online: July 13, 2009 (DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24403); Print Issue Date: August 15, 2009 University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center Markey Cancer Center


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