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Objectives: Although ultrasound (US) is considered one of the safest imaging modalities, concerns have been raised regarding potential infection transmission risks through US procedures. A survey was undertaken by the European Society of Radiology (ESR) to establish infection prevention and control measures in US and to highlight the importance of good medical practice. Methods: An online survey was sent to all 22,000 full ESR members. Results: The response rate of completed surveys was 4.3 % (946 practitioners, 97 % of which were radiologists, mostly working in larger hospital settings). Among respondents, 29 %, 11 % and 6 % did not disinfect the US probe after every patient when performing standard surface US, endo-cavity US and interventional procedures, respectively. Eleven percent did not always use probe covers for endo-cavity US; for interventional procedures, the proportion was 23 %. A minority used sterile gel sachets in direct patient contact for endo-cavity scans (30 %), and 77.5 % used sterile gel for interventional procedures. Conclusions: The survey results highlight a wide range of practices throughout Europe and the need to raise awareness amongst practitioners regarding the importance of infection prevention and control measures. The development of European recommendations encompassing all US examinations, together with education is a priority. Main Messages : • Transmission of infection through ultrasound procedures is possible. • There is a wide range of ultrasound probe decontamination practices in Europe. • Not all practitioners use probe covers for endo-cavity or interventional ultrasound. • Not all practitioners use sterile gel for internal and invasive procedures. • Currently there are no European recommendations encompassing all US examinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Following implementation of Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) in the UK, potential radiology trainees must decide on their career and apply sooner than ever before. We aimed to determine whether current trainees were sufficiently informed to make an earlier career decision by comparing the early radiology experiences of Traditional and Foundation Trainees. Methods: 344 radiology trainees were appointed through MMC in 2007/08. This cohort was surveyed online. Results: Response rate was 174/344 (51%). Traditional Trainees made their career decision 2.6 years after graduation compared with 1.2 years for Foundation Trainees (57/167, 34%). Nearly half of responders (79/169, 47%) experienced no formal radiology teaching as undergraduates. Most trainees regularly attended radiology meetings, spent time in a radiology department and/or performed radiology research. Many trainees received no career advice specific to radiology (69/163, 42%) at any point prior to entering the specialty; this includes both formal and informal advice. Junior doctor experiences were more frequently cited as influencing career choice (98/164, 60%). An earlier career decision was associated with; undergraduate radiology projects (-0.72 years, p = 0.018), career advice (-0.63 years, p = 0.009) and regular attendance at radiology meetings (-0.65 years, p = 0.014). Conclusion: Early experience of radiology enables trainees to make an earlier career decision, however current radiology trainees were not always afforded relevant experiences prior to entering training. Radiologists need to be more proactive in encouraging the next generation of trainees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El artículo presenta una evaluación de los procedimientos de exploración ginecológica. Se incluyen los exámenes bacteriológicos, los métodos endoscópicos y la radiología ginecológica como procedimientos utilizados frecuentemente. También se discurre sobre la exploración de varias enfermedades ginecológicas, incluyendo la infección tuberculosa, las infecciones gonocócicas y el sífilis, con información sobre los tratamientos comunes para cada infección.

The article provides information on interventional radiology (IR) and its role in modern medical practice. IR is considered a sub-specialty in diagnostic radiology that involves minimally-invasive targeted treatment options to handle different medical conditions under imaging guidance. One of the available IR procedures and applications is balloon angioplasty and stenting which involves balloon use to dilate areas of stenosis in veins and arteries. One of the applications of image-guided drainage is breast cysts.

Abstract: Radiotherapy is one of the basic methods of radical treatment of prostate cancer. Because of that getting to know all factors of post-radiation complications, and in consequence the possibility to limit them, is one of the challenges of contemporary radiotherapy. One of the potential complications associated with radiation treatment is radiation-induced cancer. Despite a whole range of epidemiological analyses there is still lacking a fully credible model that would allow one to estimate the magnitude of risk of inducing such cancers. The last decades have seen the entry into clinical practice of technologically advanced methods of radiation therapy, such as the 3DCRT and IMRT. As the previous epidemiological analyses refer mainly to older radiation techniques, there is still a lack of credible data estimating the risk of inducing secondary cancers for new techniques, and in particular IMRT. It should be emphasized that IMRT allows one to escalate the dose, which may contribute to the improvement of radiotherapy effectiveness. From this there follows a new problem to be solved in future, i.e. how the escalation of the dose may influence the magnitude of risk of radiation carcinogenesis. The problem of carcinogenesis may concern the group of younger patients for whom long survival is very likely, and the competitive edge of RT relative to surgery, in particular in the aspect of late complications, has to be thoroughly justified. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The radiotherapy community has in the past few decades witnessed dramatic shift in the treatment modalities from conventional 2-D radiotherapy to the now widely practiced 3-DCRT, IMRT and evolving IGRT. IMRT has generated so much interest because of its unique dosimetric modulation to concentrate doses to the targets of interests while also being able to relatively spare neighboring normal tissue. However IMRT is not the all in one solution for radiotherapeutic management of solid malignancies. The current enthusiasm in IMRT most be tempered with an understanding of the complexities of IMRT planning, treatment delivery, quality assurance, monitoring and clinical limitations. The widespread implementation of this technological innovation may have been a bit premature considering that clinical information regarding the same is still being generated. This article tries to give an overview of the potential advantages/disadvantages of IMRT in the clinical set up and the few controversies (Grey Zone) that are still being resolved. There is evidence to indicate that indiscriminately used IMRT may even harm the patient or have an inferior therapeutic index to 3DCRT. This and other pertinent issues will be covered by the authors in this short review of IMRT in clinical practice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Background: Concurrent use of chemotherapy and twice-a-day hyperfractionated radiotherapy is an efficacious scheme to control limited disease (LD) small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Aim: Our main objective was to estimate initial results in overall survival for patients with LD-SCLC treated with concomitant chemotherapy and hyperfractionated thoracic radiotherapy in routine practice. Response to treatment and toxicity were also assessed. Material and Methods: Forty-nine patients with confirmed LD-SCLC were treated at the Department of Radiotherapy of the Hospital General de Catalonia (Spain) from December 1999 to February 2007. The chemotherapy regimen was cisplatin (80 mg/m2) on day 1 and etoposide (100 mg/m2) on days 1, 2, and 3, every 21 day. The target dose to the tumor volume was 45 Gy. Prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI), consisting of 30 Gy delivered in 15 fractions, was prescribed for all patients with a response rate >75% (23 of 30 patients). Results: Median follow-up was 12 months (range, 6–58 months) and median overall survival was 28.9 months. Two-year and 4-year survival rates were 56.4% and 30.1%, respectively. At 2 years, specific survival, local control, and systemic control were 64.2%, 88.8%, and 46.8%, respectively. Myelotoxicity and oesophagitis were the most severe toxicities. Conclusions: The combined schedule – hyperfractionated irradiation plus concurrent chemotherapy – can be applied in routine practice in the context of early radiotherapy, which is considered standard treatment, with acceptable toxicity and similar results to those described in the literature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary: Aim: The aim of this study was to provide a parameter for treatment plan comparisons in clinical practice. Materials and Methods: 21 patients with brain tumours were selected for analysis. Two alternative treatment plans were calculated for each patient. One of the alternative plans was approved while the second one was rejected by the physician. Alternative plans were compared with the parameter RPI. The computer program RPIWin® was prepared to facilitate the calculation process. Results: Calculations showed that 80% of approved treatment plans had higher RPI than rejected ones. Only 4 cases of approved treatment plans were characterized by lower RPI values than rejected ones. Conclusion: The experiment demonstrated that the Radiation Planning Index formula takes into account the relation between dose distributions calculated for planning treatment volumes and organs at risk and is a convenient tool for treatment plan comparisons in routine clinical practice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents information on the importance of medical imaging informatics for clinical practice. As reported, if data is used properly and prospectively, it can serve as a valuable tool to improve clinical practice. It is further reported that it can also elevate the quality of medical care, and differentiate service providers based on objective performance measures. The article also presents information on evidence-based medicine (EBM) and evidence-based radiology (EBR).

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Conceptualisation of the characteristics of advanced practitioners in the medical radiation professions" by T. Smith and colleagues, in 2015 issue.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Conceptualisation of the characteristics of advanced practitioners in the medical radiation professions" by T. Smith and colleagues, in 2015 issue.

The article discusses the legal aspects of radiology practice in India. One of the rules and regulations framed by the government for doctors of all disciplines are mandatory registration of medical professionals with the Medical Council of India (MCI) or with state medical councils. It advises the practice doctor to be prudent and manage patient records with sincerity to prevent litigation. Also stressed is the need for radiologists to establish rapport with the patients and their attendants.

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Conceptualisation of the characteristics of advanced practitioners in the medical radiation professions" by T. Smith and colleagues, in 2015 issue.

Focuses on the urge by the British Medical Association's Scottish council for guidance on radiology services. Failure among authorities to reach to an agreement on the basis of guidance; Importance of an issuance of a circular; Resolution on a meeting among representatives.