Use of Radiology Procedure Codes in Health Care: The Need for Standardization and Structure.

Radiology procedure codes are a fundamental part of most radiology workflows, such as ordering, scheduling, billing, and image interpretation. Nonstandardized unstructured procedure codes have typically been used in radiology departments. Such codes may be sufficient for specific purposes, but they offer limited support for interoperability.

Inhibitory effects of hepatocyte growth factor and interleukin-6 on transforming growth factor-beta1 mediated vocal fold fibroblast-myofibroblast differentiation.

Objectives: The role of myofibroblasts in vocal fold scarring has not been extensively studied, partly because of the lack of a robust in vitro model. The objective of this investigation was to develop and characterize a myofibroblast in vitro model that could be utilized to investigate the molecular mechanism of myofibroblast differentiation and function in injured vocal fold tissue.

Methods: Differentiation of human primary vocal fold fibroblasts (hVFFs) to myofibroblasts was stimulated with 5, 10, or 20 ng/mL of recombinant transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1).