Goodney PP, Beck AW, Nagle J, Welch HG, Zwolak RM National trends in lower extremity bypass surgery, endovascular interventions, and major amputations. J Vasc Surg. 2009 Jul;50(1):54-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jvs.2009.01.035. Epub 2009 May 28.
Groeneveld AB, Navickis RJ, Wilkes MM Update on the comparative safety of colloids: a systematic review of clinical studies. Ann Surg. 2011 Mar;253(3):470-83. doi: 10.1097/SLA.0b013e318202ff00. Review.
Hawkins IF, Caridi JG Carbon dioxide (CO2) digital subtraction angiography: 26-year experience at the University of Florida. Eur Radiol. 1998;8(3):391-402. Review.
Hawkins IF, Cho KJ, Caridi JG Carbon dioxide in angiography to reduce the risk of contrast-induced nephropathy. Radiol Clin North Am. 2009 Sep;47(5):813-25, v-vi. doi: 10.1016/j.rcl.2009.07.002. Review.
Jones MR, Attizzani GF, Given CA 2nd, Brooks WH, Costa MA, Bezerra HG Intravascular frequency-domain optical coherence tomography assessment of atherosclerosis and stent-vessel interactions in human carotid arteries. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2012 Sep;33(8):1494-501. doi: 10.3174/ajnr.A3016. Epub 2012 Mar 15.
Kerns SR, Hawkins IF Jr Carbon dioxide digital subtraction angiography: expanding applications and technical evolution. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1995 Mar;164(3):735-41. Review.
Li QX, Fu QQ, Shi SW, Wang YF, Xie JJ, Yu X, Cheng X, Liao YH Relationship between plasma inflammatory markers and plaque fibrous cap thickness determined by intravascular optical coherence tomography. Heart. 2010 Feb;96(3):196-201. doi: 10.1136/hrt.2009.175455. Epub 2009 Oct 28.
Stefano GT, Mehanna E, Parikh SA Imaging a spiral dissection of the superficial femoral artery in high resolution with optical coherence tomography-seeing is believing. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv. 2013 Feb;81(3):568-72. doi: 10.1002/ccd.24292. Epub 2012 Apr 17.
Interventional studies are often prospective and are specifically tailored to evaluate direct impacts of treatment or preventive measures on disease.
Observational studies are often retrospective and are used to assess potential causation in exposure-outcome relationships and therefore influence preventive methods.
Expanded access is a means by which manufacturers make investigational new drugs available, under certain circumstances, to treat a patient(s) with a serious disease or condition who cannot participate in a controlled clinical trial.
Clinical trials are conducted in a series of steps, called phases - each phase is designed to answer a separate research question.
Phase 1: Researchers test a new drug or treatment in a small group of people for the first time to evaluate its safety, determine a safe dosage range, and identify side effects.
Phase 2: The drug or treatment is given to a larger group of people to see if it is effective and to further evaluate its safety.
Phase 3: The drug or treatment is given to large groups of people to confirm its effectiveness, monitor side effects, compare it to commonly used treatments, and collect information that will allow the drug or treatment to be used safely.
Phase 4: Studies are done after the drug or treatment has been marketed to gather information on the drug's effect in various populations and any side effects associated with long-term use.
