U.S. Preventive Task Force (USPTF)

 Edisleydis Martinez

U.S. Preventive Task Force (USPTF)

USPTF is an autonomous group of national skillful individuals who are specialized in the prevention of the transmission of diseases and it also offers free services which greatly rely on evidence-based medicine. This important Task Force has put significant efforts in order to make the health status of the American people much better (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force)This task force has contributed significantly in many spheres of preventive medicine such as the constant screening for diabetes in pregnant women, screening for asymptomatic carotid artery stenosis and even life-threatening syphilis infections in nonpregnant adolescent and adults.

Breast Cancer Screening

According to the approved recommendations by USPTF, women who are between their 6th and 7th decades of their lives together with those who are more likely to develop breast cancer due to some reasons such as genetic predisposition should undergo cancer screening every two years. In addition, those women at their 40s should have detailed consultations with their doctors concerning the time when they should begin and how frequent they should undergo breast cancer screening ( Division of Cancer Prevention and Control,CDC). The most commonly available tool for breast cancer screening is the mammogram (breast X-ray). Mammogram allows early diagnosis of breast cancer which is also important for the prognosis of a breast cancer patient. Also, Breast MRI and clinical examination of the breast are key.

Name: Leinah Hung 

 

Discussion 3: USPSTF 

1) The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) was created in 1984 as an independent group of national experts who volunteer to provide evidence-based medicine and prevention. The aim of the task force is to improve the American people’s health through evidence-based recommendation on clinical preventive services like screening, preventive medications and behavioral counselling (U. S. Preventive Services Task Force, n. d). Further, the Task Force makes recommendations aimed at helping patients and primary healthcare providers make informed health care decisions. However, the Task Force only addresses services provided in the primary care setting and it applies to people who are symptomatic to a condition or disease. 

The USPSTF comprise 16 volunteer members who serve for 4-year term led by a chair and two vice chairs. These members of the panel are experts in primary care and preventive medicine. Further, these members do not have a conflict of interest to avoid impaired integrity to the work of USPSTF (U. S. Preventive Services Task Force, n. d). Also, the Task Force bases the recommendations on peer-reviewed evidence not conducting research studies. It also collaborates with experts, patients, stakeholders and specialists throughout the recommendation process. 

2) The recommendation selected is cervical cancer screening. According to the USPSTF (2018), the screening age recommendation is women aged 21 to 65 years. The recommended screening period by USPSTF for cervical cancer for women between 21 to 29 years is every 3 years with cervical cytology; every 3 years for women between 30 and 65 years; and every 5 years for women with high-risk human papillomavirus testing alone (U. S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2018). Further, the Task Force recommends that women who have had a hysterectomy or have a history of high-grade precancerous lesion should not do the screening. The Task Force recommends screening with liquid-based and conventional cytology for cervical cancer. Also, screening for hr HPV testing. These are the recommendation for screening for cervical cancer in women by the USPSTF. 

Manuel

he United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is an unconventional commission of volunteer experts from various disease prevention and medical fields nationally, working together with the primary objective of enhancing and improving the health of all United States citizens through the creation of recommendations based on evidence regarding clinical preventive measures and services (us preventive services task force, 2019). The organization investigates various characteristics of common and deadly diseases and evaluates the severity of those diseases. The panel also investigates the best ways of preventing various diseases through identifying them early via screening, after which then they list a couple of recommendation to the public and other medical practitioners on if or when, how, and why screening of various diseases is done.

A good example is the pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma or pancreatic cancer which is considered to the third deadliest cancer agent in relation to deaths caused by cancer. USPSTF estimates the number of deaths resulting from pancreatic cancer to be more than 11 out of 100,000 people annually (us preventive services task force, 2019). The panel recommends that any screening of this disease be made only on adults while also making it clear that adults that may show signs and symptoms of the disease not to be screened. Grade D of the disease is also recommended not to be screened because of the great dangers and complications that may come as a result.

Screening involving the general population no matter the method used is greatly discouraged, whereas the panel recommends approaches based on imaging such as MRI, EUS, and CT scans to screen people who are feared to be in great threat of contracting the disease either through genetic inheritance, or any other genetic-related syndromes (us preventive services task force, 2019).