Risk-benefit analysis of pulmonary CT angiography in patients with suspected pulmonary embolus.

Objective: The objective of our study was to estimate the mortality benefit-to-risk ratio of pulmonary CT angiography (CTA) by setting (ambulatory [emergency department or outpatient] or inpatient), age, and sex.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective evaluation of 1424 consecutive pulmonary CTA examinations was performed and the following information was recorded: examination setting, patient age, patient sex, pulmonary CTA interpretation for pulmonary embolus (PE), and CT radiation exposure (dose-length product). We estimated mortality benefit of pulmonary CTA by multiplying the rate of positive pulmonary CTA examinations by published estimates of mortality of untreated PE in ambulatory and inpatient settings.

The missing left atrial appendage.

A 34 year old man underwent a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) prior to implantation of a biventricular ICD and DC cardioversion, to exclude left atrium and left atrial appendage thrombus. He had a history of repaired tetralogy of Fallot as a child, Stickler syndrome, atrial flutter and was status post recent mitral valve replacement, pulmonary valve replacement and tricuspid valve repair. The left atrial appendage was not visualized on TEE.

Effect of patient socioeconomic status on perceptions of first- and second-year medical students.

Background: Physician decision-making and perceptions of patients are affected by a patient's socioeconomic status (SES). We sought to determine if the perceptions of first- and second-year medical students are similarly affected. We also wanted to determine whether a student's own SES affects his or her perceptions of patients from a low or high SES background.