Jefferson researchers Kevin Takakuwa, M.D. and Ethan Halpern, M.D., received the 2008 Philips CT NetForum Publication of the Year award. The award is given by Philips Medical Systems, who announced the winner at the 94th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
The contest is hosted by the Philips CT NetForum online user community. Registered CT NetForum users nominate publications that illustrate significant advances in the clinical use of Philips CT. The NetForum users then vote on the best of 10 papers. Philips Medical Systems awards the grand-prize winner a research grant of up to $20,000 to further advance their work in CT imaging.
The winning paper is titled "Evaluation of a 'triple rule-out' coronary CT angiography protocol: use of 64-section CT in low-to-moderate risk emergency department patients suspected of having acute coronary syndrome (ACS)."
"We are delighted to have been selected to receive this recognition," said Dr. Halpern, an assistant professor in the Department of Radiology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. "The use of CT for patients who present to the emergency department with chest pain can revolutionize and improve the diagnosis of ACS."
According to Dr. Takakuwa, assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, standard practices for evaluating patients who present with symptoms of ACS tend to be very cautious. They involve a battery of tests and sometimes lengthy hospital stays.
"This traditional approach in diagnosis wastes millions of dollars in unnecessary health care costs," Takakuwa said. "If we can find a way to rapidly rule out ACS as early as possible and more accurately diagnose patients, we can potentially save millions of dollars and a lot of time."
Drs. Takakuwa and Halpern evaluated 200 patients who presented to the emergency department using a coronary CT angiography "triple rule-out" protocol. On the protocol, patients are evaluated for coronary disease, pulmonary embolism and aortic dissection.
"Triple rule-out coronary CT angiography provides noninvasive visualization of coronary arteries with simultaneous evaluation of the pulmonary arteries, thoracic aorta, and other intra-thoracic structures that might explain signs and symptoms that are similar to those of ACS," Dr. Halpern said.
Using this protocol, the researchers found that the symptoms of 76 percent of the patients were not caused by ACS, though the symptoms were similar. Eleven percent of the patients were found to have a non-cardiac cause of their symptoms, such as pulmonary embolism or aortic dissection. Five percent of the patients had severe coronary artery disease and six percent had moderate disease.