Rural barriers to early lung cancer detection: Exploring access to lung cancer screening programs in New Hampshire and Vermont

BackgroundRural populations face many health disadvantages compared to urban areas. There is a critical need to better understand the current lung cancer screening landscape in these communities to identify targeted areas to improve the impact of this proven tool.MethodsData from the County Health Rankings of New Hampshire and Vermont was reviewed for population density, distribution of adult smokers, and level of education compared to the distribution of Lung Cancer Screening Facilities throughout these two states.ResultsScreening programs in southern counties of Vermont with lower levels of education have decreased access. In New Hampshire, there are no programs within 30 miles of the areas with the largest distribution of smokers, and decreased access in some areas with the lowest levels of education.ConclusionsImproving equitable access to high-quality screening services in rural regions and the creation of targeted interventions to address decreased access in areas of high tobacco use and low education is vital to decreasing the incidence of latestage presentations of lung cancer within these populations.     

Cardiac Denervation for Arrhythmia Treatment with Transesophageal Ultrasonic Strategy in Canine Models

Stellate ganglion (SG) modification has been investigated for arrhythmia treatment. In this study, transesophageal SG imaging and intervention were explored using a homemade 30F integrated focused ultrasonic catheter in healthy mongrel canines in vivo. Anatomic details of SGs were ultrasonically imaged and evaluated. SG had a heterogeneous echoic structure and characteristic profiles sketched by hyper-echoic outlines in an ultrasonogram. Left SGs in the experimental group were successfully ablated through the esophagus under ultrasonic guidance provided by the catheter itself. Two weeks after the ablation, the QT and QTc of the experimental group decreased compared with those of the sham group and at baseline (both p values < 0.001). Histologic examination revealed that left SGs were destroyed. No major complications were observed. This approach may be further explored as a method for ganglia remodeling evaluation and as a strategy of ganglia modification for arrhythmia and for other diseases.     

How accurate is atherosclerosis imaging by coronary computed tomography angiography?

Invasive coronary plaque imaging such as intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography has been widely used to observe culprit or non-culprit coronary atherosclerosis, as well as optimize stent sizing, apposition and deployment. Coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is non-invasively available to assess coronary artery disease (CAD) and has become an appropriate strategy to evaluate patients with suspected CAD. Given recent technologies, semi-automated plaque software is available to identify coronary plaque stenosis, volume and characteristics and potentially allows to be used for the assessment of more details of plaque information, progression and future risk as a surrogate tool of the invasive imaging modalities. This review article aims to focus on various evidence in coronary plaque imaging by coronary CTA and describes how accurate coronary CTA can classify coronary atherosclerosis.     

2005 - 2014年中国老年人肺癌发病的时间趋势分析

目的 分析2005 - 2014年我国老年人肺癌发病的时间趋势，为我国肺癌的防控工作提供依据。方法 根据2008 - 2017年《中国肿瘤登记年报》中肺癌的相关数据，分析2005 - 2014年我国老年人肺癌的发病情况，并通过年度变化百分比（annual percentage change，APC）分析其时间变化趋势。结果 2005 - 2014年我国老年人肺癌的发病率呈上升趋势（APC = 0.71%，P＜0.05），其中农村老年人肺癌的发病率从198.9/105上升至250.7/105，上升趋势更明显（APC = 2.81%，P＜0.05），尤以农村老年女性肺癌发病率的上升趋势最为明显（APC = 5.26%，P＜0.05）。2005 - 2014年中国老年人肺癌的发病在60～64岁和65～69岁组呈上升趋势（APC分别为2.83%和2.04%，均P＜0.05），而在农村地区，老年人所有年龄组的肺癌发病率都呈明显上升趋势（APC分别为3.49%，3.86%，1.66%，2.31%，3.49%及6.37%，均P＜0.05）。结论 2005 - 2014年我国老年人肺癌发病上升趋势明显，以农村老年女性最为突出，国家应针对高危人群及早开展筛查等工作，降低我国老年人肺癌的流行水平。     

Trans-Pacific tele-ultrasound image transmission of fetal central nervous system structures

Objective: To assess the quality of images and video clips of fetal central nervous (CNS) structures obtained by ultrasound and transmitted via tele-ultrasound from Brazil to Australia.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 15 normal singleton pregnant women between 20 and 26 weeks were selected. Fetal CNS structures were obtained by images and video clips. The exams were transmitted in real-time using a broadband internet and an inexpensive video streaming device. Four blinded examiners evaluated the quality of the exams using the Likert scale. We calculated the mean, standard deviation, mean difference, and p values were obtained from paired t tests.

Results: The quality of the original video clips was slightly better than that observed by the transmitted video clips; mean difference considering all observers = 0.23 points. In 47/60 comparisons (78.3%; 95% CI?=?66.4–86.9%) the quality of the video clips were judged to be the same. In 182/240 still images (75.8%; 95% CI?=?70.0–80.8%) the scores of transmitted image were considered the same as the original.

Conclusion: We demonstrated that long distance tele-ultrasound transmission of fetal CNS structures using an inexpensive video streaming device provided images of subjective good quality.