Make no mistake, Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF), a horrible (and thankfully very rare) disease which can afflict persons with significantly impaired kidney function who receive certain gadolinium based MRI contrast agents. Over the past few years, tremendous resources have been poured into the identification of patients, research on the specific mechanisms of disease, and effective means of prevention. NSF has run into a problem, however, which has dramatically curtailed further research… we’ve darn-near eliminated this disease!
Posts Tagged ‘burn’
As 2010 Ends, Can’t We Please Let Go Of NSF?
Friday, December 31st, 2010MRI Projectile Accidents – One Exemplar
Friday, February 19th, 2010How to pick just one when there are a number of alarming, tragic, and needless MRI accidents to choose from? Let’s look at one that we can help the reader better imagine, the case of a pair of flying scissors that had to be surgically removed from a technologist’s forehead…
Fear and Clothing In MRI-Land: An MRI Safety Tale
Thursday, January 21st, 2010Near the end of last year I posted an article from an RSNA ‘tip of the day’ regarding external fixation, halo, hardware and ferromagnetic risks. Now, in the first few weeks of 2010 we learn of new MRI safety risks from orthopedic hardware that may be more common than halo systems, scoliosis body braces.
External fixation and braces are typically very carefully screened for contraindication for MRI examination, but what may not be as frequently screened is the clothing underneath. Click Here For The Rest Of The Story…
MRI ‘Never Event’ In Athens, Alabama
Sunday, December 6th, 2009The Athens, Alabama, News Courier ran a story December 4th on their website about a 21-month boy who received a 3rd degree burn from an MRI. This hits square in the middle of the 5 MRI ‘never events’ that were enumerated a few months ago here on this blog.
5 MRI ‘Never Events’
Friday, September 18th, 2009For those unfamiliar with the term, a ‘never event’ is a label used to describe an adverse event that is wholly avoidable by simply following established best practices. For example, if you have an accurate count of the surgical instruments before and after surgery, there should never be an event where the patient leaves the OR with a sponge or clamp sewn up inside of them. A retained surgical instrument, or wrong-site surgery, or bed-sores, or patient mis-identification, or medication errors are all examples of ‘never events’.
Some insurance payers are beginning to refuse reimbursement for care that is necessitated by certain ‘never events’, and that list is likely to grow. And while they may not always result in patient injury, I’d like to propose my own list of 5 MRI ‘never events’ which should at least trigger an investigation…
MRI Accidents, Hyperbola And Not Hyperbole
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009Def. Hyperbolic: Mathematical curve functions which have relations to the hyperbola.
Def. Hyperbolic: Rhetorical exaggeration or diminishing beyond the fact; exceeding the truth; as, an hyperbolical expression.
I have this sense that some feel that virtually all talk of MRI accidents is hyperbolic, or exaggeration. To those who believe this, I say there is a truth buried in this thought, but it’s not what they may think…
ECRI’s New Top-10 Health Technology Hazards
Thursday, December 18th, 2008The ECRI Institute has again published their annual Top-10 Health Technology Hazards document for 2008, which is available as a free download from their website. Number 9 on the ECRI list is one of the well known MRI hazards. But before I tell you which MRI hazard made their list, let me give you a little background on what the ECRI Institute is and what they do…
Click here to learn more about ECRI and their Top 10 MRI hazard…