Publications

T(2) -weighted, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (T(2) w CMR) can be used to noninvasively detect and quantify the edematous region that corresponds to the area at risk (AAR) following myocardial infarction (MI). Previously, CMR has been used to examine structure and function in mice, expediting the study of genetic manipulations. To date, CMR has not been applied to imaging of post-MI AAR in mice. We developed a whole-heart, T(2) w CMR sequence to quantify the AAR in mouse models of ischemia and infarction. The ΔB(0) and ΔB(1) environment around the mouse heart at 7 T were measured, and a T(2) -preparation sequence suitable for these conditions was developed. Both in vivo T(2) w and late gadolinium enhanced CMR were performed in mice after 20-min coronary occlusions, resulting in measurements of AAR size of 32.5 ± 3.1 (mean ± SEM)% left ventricular mass, and MI size of 50.1 ± 6.4% AAR size. Excellent interobserver agreement and agreement with histology were also found. This T(2) w imaging method for mice may allow for future investigations of genetic manipulations and novel therapies affecting the AAR and salvaged myocardium following reperfused MI.

BACKGROUND

Medicare established the Physicians Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI, recently renamed the Physicians Quality Reporting System) to increase reporting of quality metrics and promote healthcare quality.

OBJECTIVE

To identify characteristics of PQRI participants and examine their beliefs about its impact.

DESIGN

National survey of 4934 U.S. physicians, conducted June through October 2009.

SETTING

All practice settings.

PARTICIPANTS

Randomly selected physicians categorized as primary care, medical specialists, surgeons, other specialists.

MEASUREMENTS

Beliefs about impact of PQRI reporting on quality.

RESULTS

The response rate was 49.8%. There were no significant differences between respondents and non-respondents by age, gender, specialty, and region. Thirty-eight percent participated in the PQRI, and were more likely than non-participants to be practice owners (69.0% vs. 57.1%, p<.0001) and to receive performance bonuses through their employer or practice (50.4% vs. 37.0%, p<.0001). Half of PQRI participants believed it had no impact on quality. Medical specialists (57.0%) and surgeons (55.1%) were more likely than primary care (40.4%) and other physicians (45.7%) to say that PQRI has no impact on quality (p=.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Most PQRI participants believed it had little if any impact on quality. Medicare should identify the reasons behind physicians' negative views while it works to expand the Physicians Quality Reporting System.

Compassionate release is a program that allows some eligible, seriously ill prisoners to die outside of prison before sentence completion. It became a matter of federal statute in 1984 and has been adopted by most U.S. prison jurisdictions. Incarceration is justified on 4 principles: retribution, rehabilitation, deterrence, and incapacitation. Compassionate release derives from the theory that changes in health status may affect these principles and thus alter justification for incarceration and sentence completion. The medical profession is intricately involved in this process because eligibility for consideration for compassionate release is generally based on medical evidence. Many policy experts are calling for broader use of compassionate release because of many factors, such as an aging prison population, overcrowding, the increasing deaths in custody, and the soaring medical costs of the criminal justice system. Even so, the medical eligibility criteria of many compassionate-release guidelines--which often assume a definitive prognosis--are clinically flawed, and procedural barriers may further limit their rational application. We propose changes to address these flaws.