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Radiology Incidental Findings - the latest research
(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- What to do about incidental findings: the (less than) 1% solution
Pathologies such as infections, or even tumors, crop up from time to time in patients examined for entirely unrelated issues. These “incidental findings” can put doctors—and patients—in a tight spot. How do they proceed with the patient, knowing that many of the asymptomatic signs of disease may never lead to clinical problems, or may simply be false positives?
For those who have run into this situation and chosen the path of less intervention, there is now research evidence that they likely did the right thing.
A paper in the Sept. 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine notes that although incidental findings, such as a tumor or infection, are uncovered on radiological exams in up to 40% of research participants, an expert panel determined that clinical action was justified in only 6.2% of the cases. And, of those who received treatment, only a miniscule number actually benefited.
This article was republished with permission from CMPMedica, LLC
Pathologies such as infections, or even tumors, crop up from time to time in patients examined for entirely unrelated issues. These “incidental findings” can put doctors—and patients—in a tight spot. How do they proceed with the patient, knowing that many of the asymptomatic signs of disease may never lead to clinical problems, or may simply be false positives?
For those who have run into this situation and chosen the path of less intervention, there is now research evidence that they likely did the right thing.
A paper in the Sept. 27 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine notes that although incidental findings, such as a tumor or infection, are uncovered on radiological exams in up to 40% of research participants, an expert panel determined that clinical action was justified in only 6.2% of the cases. And, of those who received treatment, only a miniscule number actually benefited.
This article was republished with permission from CMPMedica, LLC
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