Editor’s Note: Following are Abstracts From Posters Presented at the American RadiologicalNurses Association (ARNA) 26th Annual Convention Held March 1e6, 2007, in Seattle, WA

PS 001Safe and Effective Use of Beta-Blockers for Use WithCoronary CTA (64 Slice CT Scan)

Diane Cancilla, RN, CRN

The Western Pennsylvania Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA

The radiology department uses the 64 MDCT-CT scanner for

coronary CTAs. It can assist in reliable and comprehensiveevaluation of the coronary arteries. The nurses in our depart-ment are responsible for supervision and patient monitoring

and with our radiologists the choice of beta blockade. Sincehigh-resolution images can be obtained in patients with stableheart rates and rhythms the choice of beta-blocker is crucial.

The assessment of patient medications, condition, and contra-indications are left to the nurse. I made a screening sheet to beused by our department and streamlined the system to call the

patient and the referring physician. The beta-blocker ischosen to meet each patient’s specific need and tolerance. Ihave a 50-patient sample and hope to have approximately100 patients by January 2007 and will compare choices of

beta-blockers and its effectiveness.

PS 002Virtual CT Colonoscopy (CT Colonography): The LatestTool in Colon Cancer Prevention

Grace Cheah, MSN, RN

Cleveland Clinic, Avon Lake, OH

Virtual CT colonoscopy, the latest tool in colon cancer pre-

vention, non-invasive radiological technique of CT scannerand computer technologies, provides the ability to detect pre-cancerous polyps in the colon. Colorectal cancer, which ranks

second in cancer-related deaths in this country, is preventableif polyps are detected and removed. Unfortunately, approxi-mately half of the population with an average risk of this dis-

ease has not been screened by any method. In conjunctionwith a review of colon cancer statistics and screeningmethods, this procedure’s advantages/disadvantages and indi-cations/contraindications are described in direct comparison

to conventional optical colonoscopy.

PS 003Implementation of New Directions in Pediatric Proce-dural Sedation in Interventional Radiology

Evelyn Dyck, RN, Carolyn Rigg, RN

The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON

The ‘‘Image Guided Therapy Centre’’ is a busy pediatric in-

terventional practice in an academic hospital setting in Cana-da. This centre performs approximately 10,000 proceduresper year on 6,300 patients and continues to grow at an

approximately 10% annual increase in procedure volumesince it opened its doors in 2001. A large percentage of our

procedures are performed under general anesthesia, but asthe shortage of pediatric anesthesiologists worsens, access tothis support is expected to diminish. The IGT departmentis, therefore, facing a problem of how best to provide care

for our patients in an expeditious and timely manner withoutthe use of anesthesia.

An interdisciplinary team consisting of a radiologist, anesthe-siologist, IGT manager, and nurses worked together to lookat the present sedation program. It was felt the overall pro-

gram was somewhat outdated an inadequate with the rangeof drugs and depth of sedation achieved.

The team worked in collaboration to develop a new sedationprotocol introducing agents such as fentanyl, ketamine, andnitrous oxide that were not previously permitted to the radiol-

ogists. The poster presentation will introduce the development,education, implementation, and evaluation of this program.

PS 004Improved Outcomes in Management of Malignant Pleu-ral Effusions

Sharene Evans, MSN, ACNP, Lori Key, MBA, RN,Megan Rezendes, MSN, RN, AOCN, John Gemery, MD,Tracy Onega, MS, PA-C, MPAS

Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Enfield, NH

Malignant pleural effusions (MPEs) commonly occur in pa-tients with advanced carcinoma which significantly compromise

their quality of life. We implemented a treatment plan that in-cluded the use of a tunneled chest drain instead of standard chestdrainage. Selecting a tunneled drain designed for long term use,

patients could intermittently drain their effusions when theMPE reaccumulated instead of undergoing repeated in-hospitalchest drainage procedures. Some outcomes measured included

treatment costs, functional status, and pain ratings.

We found a significant reduction in length of stay and treatment

costs, and patients maintained the ability to remain at homewhile managing their MPEs.

PS 005The Value of Multimedia Presentations During Consul-tations With Patients: The Use of PowerPoint forPatient Education

Lynette Furnald, RN, Ross Christensen, MD,Barry Saferstein, PhD

La Jolla Radiology Medical Group, Carlsbad, CA

Research examining clinical consultations has shown thatpatient-professional communication is often constrained.

60 JUNE 2007www.radiologynursing.org