No abstract

A postal survey of British and Irish interventional radiologists was carried out in 1991 in order to assess current practice with respect to sedation and monitoring of patients during angiography and interventional procedures. The response rate was 65%. 49% of patients are fasted prior to angiography and 68% prior to interventional procedures. Radiologists participate in obtaining consent in 60% of cases. Patients are often (50%) sedated for angiography and usually (62-94% depending on the procedure) sedated for interventional procedures. Nurses are present for most procedures, but are given the task of monitoring the patient's vital signs in only 49% of cases. Anaesthetists are present for less than 10% of interventional procedures. Pulse oximetry is used routinely in 20% of departments, and automatic blood pressure monitors in 16%. 28% of radiologists never administer oxygen to patients under sedation, whereas 4% always do. 43% of departments have a staffed recovery area. Most vascular/interventional suites are stocked with emergency drugs and 80% with a defibrillator. 28% of departments report at least one death during or shortly after a procedure during the last 10 years. 18% of interventional radiologists have taken a refresher course in cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the past year. These findings indicate a wide variation in practice and a need to standardize practice at a uniform high level.

Liquid crystal (L.C.) thermographic study of 105 women with abnormal breast characteristics was undertaken to evaluate the efficiency of L.C. thermography in breast cancer detection. Six general thermographic signs were noted to occur in breasts affected by breast cancer. These signs were derived from L.C. thermograms of 17 patients with histologically proven carcinoma. Detection of palpable malignancies with L.C. thermography had a true‐positive rate of 82.3%. The false‐positive rate was 13.6%, and only one of 17 histologically proven malignancies gave no thermographic signs of malignancy. Liquid crystal thermograms of 197 apparently healthy women with no breast abnormalities were classified according to pattern type. Six distinct thermal pattern types were characterized with 3 subgroups distinguishable in each of 3 vascular pattern groups. The L.C. pattern type was studied as a function of age, past pregnancies, previous lactation, use or non‐use of oral contraceptives, and breast size. In general, women under 30 years of age, women with several past pregnancies, women who had lactated more than 10 months' total lifetime, women using oral contraceptives, and women with large breasts had a greater occurence of the vascular patterns. Women with abnormal breast characteristics (n = 100) and known lesions (fibrocystic disease, fibroadenoma, or carcinoma) were classified according to L.C. thermal pattern type. As expected, women with malignant lesions had a higher percentage of the vascular thermal pattern types.