Radiological Society of North America's 92nd Scientific Assembly, Nov. 26-Dec. 1, 2006

Radiological Society of North America's 92nd Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting

The Radiological Society of North America's 92nd Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting took place Nov. 26 to Dec. 1 in Chicago. The meeting drew more than 61,000 attendees from around the world and covered topics such as quality improvement, interventional cardiology and oncology, and the growing importance of radiology in the detection of preclinical heart disease and cancer.

One of the meeting's key themes -- quality improvement -- was addressed by Robert R. Hattery, M.D., RSNA president; Stephen Swenson, M.D., chairman of the RSNA's Continuous Quality Improvement Initiative Steering Committee; and Brent James, M.D., executive director of the Institute for Health Care Delivery Research.

"It's an extremely important topic. These talks set the tempo for the rest of the meeting," said Gerald Dodd, III, M.D., of the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, and chairman of the RSNA's scientific program committee. The health care industry can learn from the success of quality-improvement plans implemented by the Veterans Administration and the aviation industry, Dodd added.

Kerry M. Link, M.D., of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., delivered a major address on interventional cardiology and discussed the potential of multi-slice CT technology to replace cardiac catheterization in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. "There's no question that scanners of 64 slices and above are going to revolutionize the management of acute chest pain and chronic non-specific chest pain as well," Dodd said.

J. William Charboneau, M.D., of the Mayo Clinic, delivered a major address on interventional oncology. "That's a rapidly growing area of radiology," Dodd said. "It continues to evolve with very different forms of therapy including cryoablation, radiofrequency ablation, chemo-embolization and high-intensity focused ultrasound."

In 1995, only two abstracts presented at the meeting addressed the issue of radiofrequency liver-tumor ablation, Dodd said. "This year, there were hundreds of abstracts on that topic."

"Radiology has become so pervasive that it's the glue that holds health care delivery together," said Michael Brant-Zawadzki, M.D., of Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, Calif, and Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and chairman of the RSNA's public information committee. "It's allowing us to shift from the curative model of medicine, which has been prevalent for 5,000 years, to a preventive model and the medicine of the future that the NIH says will be pre-emptive, predictive and personalized."

The use of imaging techniques to screen for preclinical heart disease, lung cancer and colon cancer was a hot topic of discussion at the meeting, Brant-Zawadzki said.

"Imaging is now replacing the physical exam," Brant-Zawadzki said. "With the development of a new generation of CT scanners, we can detect preclinical coronary artery disease, which is important. In 180,000 people a year, the first sign of coronary artery disease is sudden death."

Claudia Henschke, M.D., of the Weill Medical College at Cornell University in New York, presented an update of the I-ELCAP study, which was published in the Oct. 26 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. During the study, her team studied 35,567 high-risk patients who received annual CT screens to detect early lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.

"Under annual CT screening in conjunction with early treatment, approximately three of (every) four deaths from lung cancer can be prevented," Henschke and her colleagues concluded. "Screening for cardiovascular disease is useful in identifying those who require further cardiovascular tests."

"Even members of the radiology community who have been reluctant to embrace this screening tool are now taking notice," Brant-Zawadzki said. "The tide seems to be shifting toward proponents of CT screening for lung cancer. So we may be on verge of annual 'lungograms.'" (Abstract)

Brant-Zawadzki acknowledges that doctors are under "tremendous pressure" from third-party payors to limit the use of expensive imaging technology. "Preventive medicine has a financial downside," he said. "But you can't look at it absolutely in terms of cost. There is a benefit in terms of helping people lead longer, healthier, happier lives."

But he sees hope in a recent government decision to significantly increase reimbursements for imaging techniques used in acute stroke intervention.

"Imaging has become essential to patient management in the health care system," he said. "We live in an informational age. To a tremendous degree, imaging has become the IT component of health care."

RSNA: Milk a Viable Contrast Agent for Bowel CT Scans

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 29 (HealthDay News) -- In patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) imaging of the gastrointestinal tract, milk may be as effective as VoLumen as a contrast agent. It's also cheaper and results in fewer abdominal symptoms, according to research presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

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RSNA: Varicocele Embolization May Help Infertile Men

TUESDAY, Nov. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Varicocele embolization can significantly improve sperm count and motility in infertile men, but those with a high pre-treatment level of sperm motility are most likely to become fathers, according to research presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

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RSNA: Enlarged Heart in Older Athletes May Mask Disease

TUESDAY, Nov. 28 (HealthDay News) -- In marathon runners over age 50, it may be difficult to distinguish the effects of training on the heart and early signs of cardiac disease, according to research presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

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RSNA: Rote Learning Improves Older Adults' Cognition

MONDAY, Nov. 27 (HealthDay News) -- In older adults, simple rote-learning exercises may significantly improve memory and verbal recall, according to research presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

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RSNA: Low-Dose Ecstasy Use May Harm Brain

MONDAY, Nov. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Even low doses of the illegal recreational drug ecstasy are unsafe for the brain, according to a prospective study presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

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RSNA: Skull Fracture Did Not Cause King Tut's Death

MONDAY, Nov. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Egypt's King Tutankhamen wasn't killed by a blow to the head, as some investigators have believed, but did have a possible thighbone fracture that could have led to his death, according to research presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

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RSNA: Optimal Sitting Position for Desk Workers Identified

MONDAY, Nov. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Reclining backward in a chair while working at a desk may be healthier for the back than the standard recommendation to sit upright, according to research presented this week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

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