CHICAGO—Coronary CT angiography (CCTA), as the first test for low- to intermediate-risk patients presenting to emergency departments (ED) with potential acute coronary syndrome, results in safe and expedited discharge from the emergency department of many patients who would otherwise be admitted, according to the late-breaking clinical trial, ACRIN PA, presented March 26 at the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) 61st annual scientific session.
FluoroPharma Medical, a developer of diagnostic imaging products that utilize PET technology to detect and assess pathology before clinical manifestation of diseases, has recruited SGS Life Science Services as the contract research organization for its Phase II study of CardioPET to assess myocardial perfusion and fatty acid uptake in coronary artery disease patients.
Revelations about the actual cause of myocardial infarction have led researchers to seek out new ways to diagnose, evaluate, treat and prevent coronary artery disease, specifically through imaging vulnerable plaque.
The societies have updated and expanded their guidelines for appropriate cardiac nuclear imaging, but how are they being implemented into daily clinical practice?
Bracco Diagnostics has sent its customers an update regarding its voluntary recall of the CardioGen-82 rubidium generator. The company indicated that user error, a higher than expected strontium breakthrough, or a combination of both factors likely accounted for the triggering of gamma ray emission sensors by two patients crossing the U.S. border in July.
Independent nuclear laboratories are under a mandate to achieve accreditation by Jan. 1, 2012, to continue receiving Medicare reimbursement. While maneuvering the varied accreditation processes requires practice management savvy—causing some practices to prolong the process—the impending deadline is approaching fast.
A study published in the Sept. 27 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that, in emergency department (ED) patients experiencing low-risk, acute chest pain, the use of early coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) is a more rapid and cost-efficient test than rest-stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). An editorial in the same issue of the journal, while acknowledging the study’s conclusions in some cases, stressed that there are many factors that could make other tests besides CCTA more beneficial.
DENVER—With the “explosive growth” of cardiovascular imaging, the focus must now center on improving quality and reducing radiation exposure, and appropriate use criteria (AUC) can help, Robert C. Hendel, MD, director of cardiac imaging and outpatient services at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, said during a presentation Sept. 10 at the 16th annual American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) scientific sessions.
In addition to avoiding exposure to ionizing radiation, stress cardiac MR (CMR) myocardial perfusion imaging is an effective and robust risk-stratifying tool for patients of either sex presenting with possible ischemia, according to a study in the August issue of JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.
Myocardial flow reserve quantified using rubidium-82 (82Rb) PET predicts hard cardiac events and major adverse cardiac events independent of the summed stress score and other parameters, according to research published Aug. 9 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Therefore, the researchers recommended that routine assessment of 82Rb PET-quantified myocardial flow reserve could improve risk stratification for patients being investigated for ischemia.
Data from the Intersocietal Commission for the Accreditation of Nuclear Medicine Laboratories suggest that while non-compliance with reporting standards is found in the majority of U.S. nuclear cardiology laboratories, facilities that participate in the accreditation process demonstrate an increase in compliance over time. The retrospective study was published online June 19 in the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology.
Vital, part of the Toshiba Medical Systems Group, has released Vitrea Enterprise Suite Version 6.1.
Noninvasive cardiovascular (CV) imaging showed no benefit of improving primary prevention measures for patients; however, the authors wrote that future studies will be necessary to provide hard evidence on how these imaging tests impact prevention efforts, according to a meta-analysis published June 13 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Despite the fact that appropriate use criteria have been developed to help guide myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), women remain undertested. A study published this week in the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology showed that the vast majority of inappropriate MPI studies were ordered in women by primary care physicians, alluding to the fact that more education for physicians will be crucial.
Flurpiridaz F 18 injection, a myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) PET agent, appears to be safe and superior to SPECT with respect to image quality, diagnostic certainty and sensitivity for detection of coronary artery disease (CAD), according to a Phase II late-breaking clinical trial presented May 17 at the International Conference of Non-Invasive Cardiovascular Imaging (ICNC) in Amsterdam.
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