Objectives: Contact shielding (CS) of patients during X-ray studies has been used for decades to protect radiosensitive organs. This practice has not changed much despite increasing evidence that CS is not useful in many cases. The Gonad And Patient Shielding (GAPS) group-founded by representatives of the main European bodies involved in radiology-promoted this survey to assess the current practice of CS among European radiology departments and the attitude towards a non-shielding policy.
Methods: Over a four-month period (15 May-15th September 2021) European Society of Radiology and European Society of Paediatric Radiology radiologist members were invited to respond to a web-based questionnaire consisting of 59 questions.
Results: 225 centres from 35 countries responded to this survey. CS was routinely applied in at least one radiological modality in 49.2% of centres performing studies in adults, 57.5% of centres performing studies in children, and 47.8% of centres performing studies on pregnant women. CS was most frequently used in conventional radiography, where the most frequently shielded organs were the gonads, followed by thyroid, female breasts, and eye lens. 83.6% respondents would follow European recommendations on the use of CS when provided by the main European bodies involved in radiology.
Conclusions: This review shows that CS is still largely used across Europe. However, a non-shielding policy could be adopted in most departments if European professional societies provided recommendations. In this regard, a strong commitment by European and national professional societies to educate and inform practitioners, patients and carers is paramount.
Clinical Relevance Statement: According to this survey expectations of patients and carers, and skepticism among professionals about the limited benefits of CS are the most important obstacles to the application of a no-shielding policy. A strong commitment from European and national professional societies to inform practitioners, patients and carers is fundamental.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13244-023-01452-3 | DOI Listing |
Health Serv Insights
December 2024
Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
One of the main challenges in breast cancer management is health system literacy to provide optimal and timely diagnosis and treatments within complex and multidisciplinary health system environments. Digitalised patient navigation programs have been developed and found to be helpful in high- and low-resource settings, but gaps remain in finding cost-effective navigation in the public sector in Malaysia, where resources are scarce and unstable. Hence, we set out to develop a virtual patient navigation application for breast cancer patients to enhance knowledge about cancer diagnosis and treatments and provide a tracking mechanism to ensure quality care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Integr Care
December 2024
Radboud university medical center, Department of IQ Health, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Introduction: Multimorbidity challenges quality and sustainability of healthcare systems. Care groups were introduced in the Netherlands to promote integration of chronic primary care, but it remains unknown to which degree they facilitate this. This study therefore aims to determine whether Dutch general practices perceive themselves to be capable of delivering integrated chronic care and uncover the role of care groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCHEST Crit Care
December 2024
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care (G. L. A.), University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA; the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine (S. M. S.), University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY; the Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care (A. R., Z. F., and M. T. D. S.), Greys Hospital, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, the Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care (J. I.), Harry Gwala Regional Hospital, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, Pietermaritzburg, the Department of Anaesthesia and Critical Care (R. D. W. and M. T. D. S.), School of Clinical Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa; the Faculty Medicine and Pharmacy (R. D. W.), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, Belgium; and the Department of Intensive Care (R. D. W.), John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford University Trust Hospitals, Oxford, England.
Background: A proposed new global definition of ARDS seeks to update the Berlin definition and account for nonintubated ARDS and ARDS diagnoses in resource-variable settings.
Research Question: How do ARDS epidemiologic characteristics change with operationalizing the new global definition of ARDS in a resource-limited setting?
Study Design And Methods: We performed a real-use retrospective cohort study among adult patients meeting criteria for the Berlin definition of ARDS or the global definition of ARDS at ICU admission in two public hospitals in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, South Africa, from January 2017 through June 2022.
Results: Among 5,760 adults (aged ≥ 18 years) admitted to the ICU, 2,027 patients (35.
Open Life Sci
December 2024
Plant Protection and Biomolecular Diagnosis Department, Arid Lands Cultivation Research Institute, City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, Alexandria, 21934, Egypt.
Methanolic extract from was investigated for its phytochemical content, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties against phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria. Phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of saponin, tannins, and alkaloids with 1.25%, 18.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Oncol
December 2024
Cancer Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
Purpose: The management of rectal adenocarcinoma has evolved during the last decade, shifting from a conventional neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy, surgery, and adjuvant chemotherapy in all cases to a total neoadjuvant approach, especially in locally advanced tumors when a sphincter-sparing surgery has been planned. However, the exact indications and the neoadjuvant regimen with the highest response remain unresolved. We aimed to assess whether administering neoadjuvant chemotherapy before and after preoperative chemoradiotherapy could increase the pathological complete response (pCR) rates.
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