Joshua Broder, MD, FACEP, understands that undoing myths—particularly those tied to diagnostic imaging—is a difficult practice. But it still needs to be done.

“It’s really intolerable in a scientific age for us to rely on information simply because someone told it to us in the past,” said Dr. Broder, director of the emergency medicine residency program at Duke University School of Medicine in Durham, North Carolina. “It’s one of the challenges of translating medical knowledge into a practice.”

Hence, Dr. Broder is presenting “Ten Fatal Imaging Myths That Should Change Your Practice.” The session aims to teach attendees to avoid myths and misconceptions that could result in delays or, at worst, potentially fatal misdiagnoses.

“One is that ultrasound can rule out ovarian torsion,” Dr. Broder said. “We use the ultrasound to look at the blood supply and confirm whether it’s normal or not normal. And we’ve come to think it’s a yes-no test. It should answer the question. But it’s actually a very poorly studied topic, and a patient’s fertility is on the line if we don’t make the diagnosis in a timely fashion.”

Other examples of imaging myths are that certain contrast agents are needed in CT scans when they’re not or that intravenous contrast can result in kidney failure in higher-risk patients, Dr. Broder said. The session’s goal is to change those habits.

“I hope that they’ll go back to their very next shift … and be able to change the way they image a common condition,” Dr. Broder said.

Joshua Broder, MD, FACEP

Ten Fatal Imaging Myths That

Should Change Your Practice
Tuesday, Oct. 31
12:30–1:20 p.m.
WCC, Room 147A