The percutaneous management of complete SVC occlusion with thrombolysis and/or clot aspiration followed by stent insertion is safe and effective, giving sustained symptomatic relief.

The costs and effects of introducing selectively trained radiographers reporting accident and emergency (A&E) radiographs of the appendicular skeleton in a district general hospital were assessed using a retrospective controlled before and after design. Reference standard reports were compared with a random stratified sample of 200 A&E and 200 general practitioner (GP) reports before and after the intervention. GP reports were used as a non-intervention, non-equivalent control group. An A&E specialist registrar judged whether incorrect A&E reports might have a clinically important effect on patient management. The effect of incorrect A&E reports on outcome was assessed by patient re-attendance to the hospital because of missed abnormalities. The annual, average and incremental costs of radiographers and radiologists reporting A&E radiographs were calculated and a sensitivity analysis was undertaken. The introduction of the radiographers resulted in a 1% (95% CI -7.9 to 5.9) fall in A&E radiograph reporting accuracy and 11% (95% CI -33.7 to 11.3) reduction of cases in which incorrect A&E reports might have a clinically important effect on patient management. Only two A&E reports (one before and one after the intervention) affected patient outcome in that a fracture missed at the first visit resulted in patient re-attendance to the X-ray Department. There was a saving of 361 pounds per annum to the X-ray Department. In conclusion this study provides further evidence that selectively trained radiographers can accurately report A&E plain radiographs and at no additional cost.

Two specially trained radiographers at York District Hospital have been reporting appendicular plain radiograph X-ray examinations for Accident and Emergency (A&E) patients since February 1995. This study explores the potential for further expanding their reporting role. This was achieved by assessing the two radiographers' and a group of consultant radiologists' ability to report on a retrospectively selected random stratified sample of 400 A&E and General Practitioner (GP) plain radiograph X-ray examinations for all body areas. Using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses there was no statistically significant difference at the 5% level between the area under the ROC curves for the radiographers and consultant radiologists when reporting A&E or GP plain radiographs. It may be feasible to expand the reporting role of suitably trained radiographers to include plain radiograph X-ray examinations for all A&E patients and for GP patients, with no detriment to the quality of reports.

BackgroundThe Lotrach endotracheal tube has a unique low-volume, low-pressure (LVLP) cuff, which has been designed to prevent pressure injury to the tracheal wall. We aimed to estimate the pressure exerted on the tracheal wall by the LVLP cuff and a conventional cuff in a bench-top, clinical and radiological study.MethodIn the bench-top study, a model trachea was intubated with the LVLP cuff and the conventional cuff. The cuff pressure was controlled using a constant pressure device. We assessed the pressure exerted on the tracheal wall by measuring the ability of the cuffs to support a column of water using a standard protocol. In the clinical study, we tested the ability of both cuffs to prevent air leak during a staged recruitment manoeuvre. In the radiological study, we recorded the degree of anatomical distortion of the trachea from both cuffs in the antero-posterior (AP) and transverse tracheal diameters. We performed statistical analysis using non-inferiority tests.ResultsIn the bench-top study, the LVLP cuff achieved a plateau at a mean height of 25.2 cmH2O (SD 0.34). In contrast, the conventional cuff failed to maintain any water above the cuff and a plateau could not be measured. In the clinical study, the mean pressure at which air leak occurred was 30.0 +/- 0.8 cmH2O (SD 3.8) using the LVLP cuff and 32.4 +/- 0.7 cmH2O (SD 3.0) using the conventional cuff. In the radiological study, the mean degree of anatomical distortion of the trachea in AP and transverse tracheal diameter was 2.9 +/- 2.2 mm (SD 2.1) and 1.8 +/- 1.4 mm (SD 1.4) using the LVLP cuff and 4.4 +/- 1.3 mm (SD 1.4) and 2.6 +/- 1.5 mm (SD 1.6) using the conventional cuff.ConclusionsThe bench-top and clinical studies both demonstrated that the LVLP cuff exerted approximately 30 cmH2O of pressure on the tracheal wall. These results are supported by our radiological study. We conclude that the LVLP cuff exerts an acceptable amount of pressure on the tracheal wall when it is operated at the recommended intracuff pressure.

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