NANOCIS®: Possible errors in the summary of product characteristics quality control method and a suggested alternative method.

Background: Determination of the radiochemical purity of [Tc]NANOCIS® was performed using the procedure described in the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC). In contrast to the clinical findings of thyroid gland accumulation indicating free [Tc] pertechnetate, the QC results showed no free [Tc]pertechnetate. This discrepancy prompted us to further investigate the described QC procedure.

Improvement in image quality of Tc-99m-based ventilation/perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease through pretest continuous positive airway pressure treatment.

Ventilation/perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography performed using an aerosol of carbon-coated technetium is frequently used for diagnosing pulmonary embolism. Certain patients may suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD); for such patients, the formation of mucus clots in airways can cause accumulation of the aerosol in the larger airways. This centralized deposition of the aerosol leads to insufficient activity in peripheral lung segments and subsequently results in ventilation images of substandard or even nondiagnostic quality.

Quetiapine versus aripiprazole in children and adolescents with psychosis--protocol for the randomised, blinded clinical Tolerability and Efficacy of Antipsychotics (TEA) trial.

Background: The evidence for choices between antipsychotics for children and adolescents with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders is limited. The main objective of the Tolerability and Efficacy of Antipsychotics (TEA) trial is to compare the benefits and harms of quetiapine versus aripiprazole in children and adolescents with psychosis in order to inform rational, effective and safe treatment selections.

Methods/design: The TEA trial is a Danish investigator-initiated, independently funded, multi-centre, randomised, blinded clinical trial.

Reliability of laser Doppler flowmetry curve reading for measurement of toe and ankle pressures: intra- and inter-observer variation.

Objectives: To assess the intra- and inter-observer variation in laser Doppler flowmetry curve reading for measurement of toe and ankle pressures.

Methods: A prospective single blinded diagnostic accuracy study was conducted on 200 patients with known or suspected peripheral arterial disease (PAD), with a total of 760 curve sets produced. The first curve reading for this study was performed by laboratory technologists blinded to clinical clues and previous readings at least 3 months after the primary data sampling.

Diagnostic accuracy of laser Doppler flowmetry versus strain gauge plethysmography for segmental pressure measurement.

Objective: To assess the diagnostic accuracy of laser Doppler flowmetry (LDF) with mercury-in-silastic strain gauge plethysmography (SGP) as a reference test for measuring the toe and ankle pressures in patients with known or suspected peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Methods: This was a prospective, randomized, blinded diagnostic accuracy study. Toe and ankle pressures were measured using both methods in 200 consecutive patients, who were recruited at our vascular laboratory over a period of 30 working days.