Routine tests should be challenged in cardiology

Routine tests should be challenged in cardiology.

The need for routine diagnostic tests and procedures needs to be challenged in medical practice, because of continuous pressure to reduce the costs of health care systems. If costs can be minimized by avoidance of routine tests, more sources can perhaps be directed to new advanced diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. This challenge is important particularly in cardiology, because while new di...

Which of them should be trained cardiology residents, TEE or eFoCUS?

Intensive monitoring should not be the routine.

The main objective of acute stroke care should be to reduce death and disability, and the objective of monitoring should be the same. Treatment in stroke units (without intensive monitoring) is the only treatment option proven to reduce death in acute stroke patients, and also the only treatment that has shown beneficial long-term effects on survival and disability.1 All acute stroke patients s...

HTLV-III: should testing ever be routine?

The authors--who are researchers, physicians, and psychologists at a London teaching hospital--reject routine, indiscriminate screening for HTLV-III antibodies as of limited use in the diagnosis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS); as an ineffective public health measure; and as psychologically, socially, and economically damaging to persons with positive results. They are in favor of...

A Delayed Diagnosis: Conflicting Investigation Results Should Be Challenged

We present a case where a diagnosis of advanced HIV led to many other diagnoses but more importantly life-threatening multivariant Castleman's disease which is rare and was successfully treated. This case highlights the importance of questioning and challenging investigations when it does not fit with the clinical picture. Multidisciplinary teams are crucial and always seek expert advice if uns...