May 25th, 2010 by Davis Liu, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
12 Comments »
A patient brought in a flyer for Life Line Screening, where for $129 an individual can have their carotid (neck) and peripheral (leg) arteries screened for blockage, their abdominal aorta screened for aneurysm (swelling), and be tested for osteoporosis. The advertisement claims that “we can help you avoid a stroke,” and their logo notes “Life Line Screening: The Power of Prevention.”
Are these tests worth your money? Short answer: No.
Although the flyer correctly indicates that 80 percent of stokes can be prevented, the National Stroke Assocation does not recommend ultrasound as a screening test. Preventing stroke includes quitting smoking, knowing your blood pressure and cholesterol numbers, drinking alcohol in moderation (if already doing so), exercising regularly, and eating a low-sodium diet. Their is no mention of an ultrasound test. Why? Because there is NO evidence that it helps save lives in individuals who are healthy and have no symptoms (except for the following situations). Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Saving Money and Surviving the Healthcare Crisis*
March 30th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Opinion
No Comments »
Is the tide finally turning on PSA screening for prostate cancer? There’s no definitive data that PSA screening saves lives from prostate cancer, and it indeed can lead to further, invasive, tests that can cause men significant discomfort. Medical societies are divided on the issue. Primary care groups like the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommend against it for older men, while the American Urological Association (AUA) continues to recommend screening.
In a strongly worded op-ed in the New York Times, Richard Ablin, also known as the founder of the PSA test, bemoans how our healthcare system has twisted its use. “The test’s popularity has led to a hugely expensive public health disaster,” he writes. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
February 25th, 2010 by Harriet Hall, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, Research
1 Comment »
Everybody knows that colonoscopy is the best test to screen for colorectal cancer and that colonoscopies save lives. Everybody may be wrong. Colonoscopy is increasingly viewed as the gold standard for colorectal cancer screening, but its reputation is not based on solid evidence. In reality, it is not yet known for certain whether colonoscopy can help reduce the number of deaths from colorectal cancer. Screening with fecal occult blood testing (FOBT) and flexible sigmoidoscopy are supported by better evidence, but questions remain. It seems our zeal for screening tests has outstripped the evidence.
Statistics show that the life-time risk for an adult American to develop colorectal cancer (CRC) is approximately 6%. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. In the US there are currently 146,970 new cases and 50,630 deaths each year. Between 1973 and 1995, mortality from CRC declined by 20.5%, and incidence declined by 7.4% in the United States. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
January 2nd, 2010 by Peggy Polaneczky, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Research
No Comments »
Unless you’ve been living on another planet, you know that in mid-November, the US Preventive Services Task Force released new recommendations on screening mammography, in which they recommended against routine mammogram screening in women under age 50, and recommended that mammograms now be every two years in women ages 50-74.
What you may not have heard is that the Task Force has acknowledged that the mammogram guidelines were poorly worded, and have revised their original statement to clarify their intentions, mostly by removing those two little words “recommends against”. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at The Blog that Ate Manhattan*
December 15th, 2009 by Dr. Val Jones in Opinion, Research
1 Comment »
Steve Novella whimsically opined on a recent phone call that irrationality must convey a survival advantage for humans. I’m afraid he has a point.
It’s much easier to scare people than to reassure them, and we have a difficult time with objectivity in the face of a good story. In fact, our brains seem to be hard wired for bias – and we’re great at drawing subtle inferences from interactions, and making our observations fit preconceived notions. A few of us try to fight that urge, and we call ourselves scientists. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
