How are junior doctors managing patients with self-limiting illnesses at their first presentation? A video vignette study

Purpose: To conduct a video vignette survey of medical students and doctors investigating test ordering for patients presenting with self-limiting or minor illness. Methods: Participants were shown six video vignettes of common self-limiting illnesses and invited to devise investigation and management plans for the patients’ current presentation. The number of tests ordered was compared with those recommended by an expert panel. A Theory of Planned Behaviour Questionnaire explored participants’ beliefs and attitudes about ordering tests in the context of self-limiting illness. Results: Participants (n=61) were recruited from across Australia. All participants ordered at least one test that was not recommended by the experts in most cases. Presentations that focused mainly on symptoms (eg, in cases with bowel habit disturbance and fatigue) resulted in more tests being ordered. A test not recommended by experts was ordered on 54.9% of occasions. With regard to attitudes to test ordering, junior doctors were strongly influenced by social norms. The number of questionable tests ordered in this survey of 366 consultations has a projected cost of $17 000. Conclusions: This study suggests that there is some evidence of questionable test ordering by these participants with significant implications for costs to the health system. Further research is needed to explore the extent and reasons for test ordering by junior doctors across a range of clinical settings

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Accuracy and variability of high-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy needle tip localization using live two-dimensional and sagittally reconstructed three-dimensional ultrasound

Purpose To measure the accuracy and variability of manual high-dose-rate (HDR) prostate brachytherapy (BT) needle tip localization using sagittally reconstructed three-dimensional (3D) transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) augmented with live two-dimensional (2D) sagittal TRUS. Methods and Materials Ten prostate cancer patients underwent HDR-BT during which the sagittally assisted sagittally reconstructed (SASR) segmentation technique was completed in parallel with commercially available sagittally assisted axially reconstructed (SAAR) TRUS for comparison. The SASR technique makes use of live 2D ultrasound intraoperatively and allows needle tip updates using the final 3D image in the absence of image artifacts. These updates were repeated offline twice by two separate users. Needle end-length measurements were used to calculate insertion depth errors (IDEs) for each technique. Results Images of 147 needles were analyzed. For the SASR technique, both users were confident in tip positions on the final 3D image within 3 mm for 52% of needles, so these tip positions were updated. For the remaining 48% of needles, the tip positions from the live 2D images were used. This SASR technique enabled the localization of all needles with IDEs within ±3 mm for 84% of needles and IDE range of [−6.2 mm, 5.9 mm], compared with 57% and [−8.1 mm, 7.7 mm] when using the commercially available SAAR technique. Conclusions The SASR technique mitigates the impact of 3D TRUS image artifacts on HDR-BT needle tip localization by incorporating live 2D sagittal TRUS intraoperatively and provides a statistically significant reduction in IDE variance compared with the routine SAAR technique

The Utility of Penile Bulb Contouring to Localise the Prostate Apex as Compared to Urethrography

Purpose: High-precision radiotherapy relies on accurate anatomic localisation. Urethrography is often used to localise the prostatic apex. However, urethrography is an invasive localisation procedure and may introduce a systemic error. The penile bulb (PB) is contoured to minimise the risk of erectile dysfunction. The purpose of this study is to assess the value of using the PB, as an alternative to urethrography, to localise the prostate. Methods and Materials: The PB was localised on 10 patients treated with simplified intensity-modulated arc radiotherapy at computed tomography simulation during treatment weeks 1 and 7. All patients underwent placement of fiducial markers. Urethrography was used only at simulation. Distances from the superior PB contour to the inferior prostate contour, the apex fiducial marker, and to the inferior prostate contour were obtained as well. The PB was contoured by two observers independently. Agreement coefficients and analysis of variance were used to assess reliability between rates and consistency of measurements over time. Results: The PB-apex distance was greater than or equal to the urethrogram-apex distance in 24/30 (80%) measurements, and the median difference was 3 mm and was consistent between raters. The greatest variation in PB-IM distance between weeks was 6 mm, the median was 3 mm, and the agreements of measurements between weeks for raters 1 and 2 were 0.79 and 0.69, respectively. These differences were not statistically different and were consistent with the computed tomography slice thickness. Conclusions: The PB can be used to identify the prostate apex and can be reliably contoured between observers. Measurements are consistent between patients and through the duration of treatment. The PB distance measurements support studies indicating that urethrography causes a shift of the prostate superiorly. The distance from the PB to prostate apex remains stable during treatment for individual patients but varies between patients