The Chain of Adherence for Incidentally Detected Pulmonary Nodules after an Initial Radiologic Imaging Study: A Multisystem Observational Study.

Millions of people are diagnosed with incidental pulmonary nodules every year. Although most nodules are benign, it is universally recommended that all patients be assessed to determine appropriate follow-up and ensure that it is obtained. To determine the degree of concordance and adherence to 2005 Fleischner Society guidelines among radiologists, clinicians, and patients at two Veterans Affairs healthcare systems with incidental nodule tracking systems.

Patient and Clinician Characteristics Associated with Adherence. A Cohort Study of Veterans with Incidental Pulmonary Nodules.

Rationale: Many patients are diagnosed with small pulmonary nodules for which professional societies recommend subsequent imaging surveillance. Adherence to these guidelines involves many steps from both clinicians and patients but has not been well studied.

Objectives: In a health care setting with a nodule tracking system, we evaluated the association of communication processes and distress with patient and clinician adherence to recommended follow up and Fleischner Society guidelines, respectively.

Serum progesterone testing to predict ectopic pregnancy in symptomatic first-trimester patients.

Study Objective: This study was conducted to prospectively measure the accuracy of serum progesterone levels to detect ectopic pregnancy.

Methods: Seven hundred sixteen symptomatic first-trimester emergency department patients with abdominal pain or vaginal bleeding at a tertiary care military teaching hospital had progesterone levels measured by radioimmunoassay with results unavailable to the treating physician. All patients were monitored until a criterion standard diagnosis of intrauterine pregnancy or ectopic pregnancy was confirmed.