Faculty Bibliography

OBJECTIVE: Older women undergoing regular mammography experience significant reductions in breast cancer mortality, except in women with severe comorbidities or limited life expectancy. Optimizing screening strategies requires informed discussions of benefits and risks given each woman's health status. CONCLUSION: This article will review the benefits and risks of screening mammography in women older than 75 years within the context of life expectancy and comorbidities and summarize the current recommendations from professional organizations for screening mammography in older women.

OBJECTIVE:Because of observed clinical variance and the discretion of referring physicians and radiologists in patient follow-up, the purpose of this study was to conduct a survey to explore whether broad discrepancy exists in imaging protocols used for postsurgical surveillance. SUBJECTS AND METHODS/METHODS:An online survey was created to assess radiologists' use of diagnostic versus screening mammography for women with a personal history of breast cancer and determine whether the choice of protocol was associated with practice characteristics (setting, region, and reader type). RESULTS:Of 8170 surveys sent, 849 (10%) completed responses were returned. Seventy-nine percent of respondents recommended initial diagnostic mammography after lumpectomy (65% at 6 months, 14% at 12 months); 49% recommended diagnostic surveillance for up to 2 years before a return to screening mammography; and 33% continued diagnostic surveillance for 2-5 years before returning to screening. For imaging after mastectomy, 57% of respondents recommended diagnostic mammography of the unaffected breast. Among the 57%, however, 37% recommended diagnostic screening for only the first postmastectomy follow-up evaluation, and the other 20% permanently designated patients for diagnostic mammography after mastectomy. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:The optimal surveillance mammography regimen must be better defined. This preliminary study showed variability in diagnostic versus screening surveillance mammography for women with a history of breast cancer. Future studies should evaluate why these variations occur and how to standardize recommendations to tailor personalized imaging.

Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses A and B in humans and causes a significant amount of morbidity and mortality every year. The Influenza A and B assay was the first CLIA-waived molecular rapid flu test available. The Influenza A and B test works by employing isothermal amplification with influenza-specific primers followed by target detection with molecular beacon probes. Here, the performance of the Influenza A and B assay on frozen, archived nasopharyngeal swab (NPS) specimens stored in viral transport medium (VTM) were compared to a respiratory panel assay. The performance of the Influenza A and B assay was evaluated by comparing the results to the respiratory panel reference method. The sensitivity for total influenza virus A was 67.5% (95% CI (CI), 56.6-78.5) and the specificity was 86.9% (CI, 71.0-100). For influenza virus B testing, the sensitivity and specificity were 90.2% (CI, 68.5-100) and 98.8% (CI, 68.5-100), respectively. This system has the advantage of a significantly shorter test time than any other currently available molecular assay and the simple, pipette-free procedure runs on a fully integrated, closed, small-footprint system. Overall, the Influenza A and B assay evaluated in this study has the potential to serve as a point-of-care rapid influenza diagnostic test.

Mentoring is an essential part of a resident's career development. It plays an important role in nurturing, and sustaining success along the career path of a young physician. Mentoring is a long-term goal that is development-driven rather than performance-driven. Although specific learning goals may be used as a basis, the focus of mentoring may also include self-confidence, self-perception, and work-life balance. A number of residency programs have implemented mentoring programs in their institutions. This article discusses the importance of mentoring, illustrates "do's and don'ts" for mentees and demonstrates how to choose the ideal mentor. Finally, a "mentoring quiz" is designed to evaluate your mentoring relationship.