AAA ultrasound open to Medicare recipients

In 2007, for the first time, new Medicare beneficiaries at risk for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) have the opportunity to be screened using ultrasound technology, according to Medtronic (Minneapolis). This screening is now part of the Welcome to Medicare physical for many seniors who have certain risk factors.

A charter member of the National Aneurysm Alliance, Medtronic has been providing free screenings for abdominal aortic aneurysms at various clinics throughout the U.S. since 2004. During the past two years, about 30,000 people have been screened at 150 locations around the country, and more than 550 potentially life-threatening AAA conditions have been detected.

The alliance is a group of medical professional organizations, patient advocates, individuals and medical technology manufacturers dedicated to reducing the number of Americans who die from abdominal aortic aneurysms.

AAA rupture is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S., with an estimated 15,000 seniors dying from AAA rupture each year. Legislation passed last year included provisions of the SAAAVE Act (Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Very Efficiently), enabling screening for men who have smoked at any time in their lives, and for both men and women with a family history of AAA. This benefit is available only to people who are new to the Medicare system.

Colonoscopy success: a.m. vs. pm. differential

According to a new study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, the official publication of the American College of Gastroenterology (Bethesda, Maryland), the time of day that a colonoscopy is performed may also affect its outcome. The study reviewed 1,084 patients who received colonoscopies between 8:00 a.m. and 11:59 a.m., and 999 colonoscopies performed after 12 noon. A significantly higher number of patients had inadequate bowel preparation in the afternoon compared to the morning and, therefore, were unable to complete their colonoscopies.

The study did not offer an explanation for the difference in results. It said, however, that the patients unable to complete their afternoon colonoscopies were most often females.

“Every effort possible should be made to not only improve colonoscopy completion rates but also to improve the adequacy of bowel preparation,” said Dr. Madhusudhan Sanaka, the main author of the study. “We speculate that our study findings may have significant implications in healthcare cost savings by improving colonoscopy completion rates and also in improving quality of life for the patients.”