Aggressive testing provides no benefit to patients in ER with chest pain
Ten million people come to the ER with chest pain each year in the United States. A new School of Medicine study shows that these patients are getting more testing than is necessary to rule out heart attacks and that such patients do not need CT scans or cardiac stress tests, according to the researchers.
CT screening reduces lung-cancer deaths in heavy smokers
In a study of heavy smokers, fewer screened with low-dose CT scans died, compared with similar smokers screened with standard chest X-rays. The National Cancer Institute ran the 33-center National Lung Screening Trial to learn whether more sensitive screening could have an impact on lung-cancer deaths, and Washington University researchers involved in the study say it did.