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Avoid Unnecessary Cancer Screening Following Venous Thromboembolism, Says NEJM Study
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine says a CT scan following a first venous thromboebolism event may not benefit in detecting cancer.
An NEJM study found that the prevalence of occult cancer was low among patients who had a first unprovoked venous thromboembolism, and routine screening with CT of the abdomen and pelvis was not clinically beneficial.
The study was conducted because unprovoked venous thromboembolism is thought of as an earliest sign of cancer, and up to 10% of patients with unprovoked venous thromboembolism receive a diagnosis of cancer within a year of the event and then gradually decreases. While the hypothesis is that early screening and intervention can reduce cancer-associated mortality, there's not enough data to support the practice. This has resulted in a wide variation in policy and clinical practice, write the authors. How intense should the intervention be and what should be included as a part of the screening strategy? These are some of the questions that remain unanswered.
In this study, the authors conducted a randomized clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of adding CT of the abdomen and pelvis to a limited screening strategy for occult cancer.
Enhancing Outpatient Hemophilia Care May Improve Health Outcomes and Costs
May 18th 2024Prospective data from patients attending a rural practice in West Virginia between 2016 and 2023 show that a quality improvement program that followed guideline recommendations and was tailored to specific patient needs reduced preventable bleeds and lowered costs.
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Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Urban Health Outreach
May 9th 2024In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
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Examining Low-Value Cancer Care Trends Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 25th 2024On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we're talking with the authors of a study published in the April 2024 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® about their findings on the rates of low-value cancer care services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
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