Dabigatran, a fixed-dose, oral direct thrombin inhibitor, may be a cost-effective alternative to warfarin therapy in atrial fibrillation patients who are 65 years of age or older, according to a modeled analysis published in the Nov. 2 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

CT colonography (CTC) can increase colorectal cancer screening capacity in rural underserved communities by pairing local CT scanning with remote interpretation, according to a study in the November issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

The FDA, in conjunction with other organizations, has initiated the Safety of Atrial Fibrillation Ablation Registry Initiative (SAFARI), which will help define clinical practice of long-term persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation, according to a paper published in this month's American Heart Journal.

Astellas Pharama U.S., a co-development partner of Cardiome Pharma, has suspended patient enrollment for the ACT 5 study evaluating the safety and efficacy of vernakalant hydrochloride (Kynapid) injection, after cardiogenic shock occurred in an atrial fibrillation patient receiving the drug.

Having type 2 diabetes is an independent risk factor for sudden cardiac death after experiencing an MI, according to research published in the October issue of HeartRhythm. But whether guidelines for implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) in these patients need to be revised requires more study.

St. Francis Hospital, a 395-bed healthcare facility in Wilmington, Del., has long been involved in the Delaware Health Information Network (DHIN). DHIN, the first statewide health information exchange (HIE) in the U.S., went live in the spring of 2007; last month, St. Francis began sending data to the network. Brian McDonough, MD, CMIO of St. Francis, recently talked with CMIO about the effort to exchange information, bring physician practices on board and share the HIE experience with other healthcare organizations.

The FDA has approved dabigatran etexilate (Pradaxa, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals) for the prevention of stroke and blood clots in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, permitting the first pharmaceutical alternative to warfarin on the U.S. market.

Exchanging diagnostic images presents a new dimension of interoperability challenges. However, if all goes according to plan, there will be a secure, open-source image exchange framework on display at RSNA next month, said David S. Mendelson, MD, FACR, who is principal investigator for a National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering/National Institutes of Health contract to set up the framework through RSNA using IHE (Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise) profiles.