December 04 News Headlines

These are radiology news updates from other sites

Date this page was last updated: 01/07/2007 03:02:51 PM

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December 30, 2004   Magnetic Resonance Arthrography versus Arthroscopy in the Evaluation of Articular Hip Pathology - Clinical Orthopedics and Related Research In this study, we compared magnetic resonance arthrography results with hip arthroscopy findings to assess the diagnostic value of this imaging technique in evaluating acetabular labral tears and concurrent articular hip pathology. One hundred one consecutive patients (102 hips) with a clinical diagnosis of acetabular labral tear were assessed using magnetic resonance arthrography and had hip arthroscopy after failing to improve with nonoperative treatment...   MR Imaging of Spinal Infection - Seminars in Musculoskeletal Radiology Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging plays a pivotal role in the diagnosis and management of spinal infection, enjoying a high sensitivity and specificity. A thorough understanding of spinal anatomy and the physicochemical pathological processes associated with infection is a desirable prerequisite allowing accurate interpretation of the disease process. Apart from confirmation of the disease, MR imaging is also best suited to excluding multifocal spinal involvement and the detection/exclusion of complications...   MR Imaging Evaluation of the Postoperative Knee - Radiology The increased number of patients undergoing arthroscopy or surgery of the knee for sports medicine injuries is leading to increased numbers of patients who require imaging after surgery because of failure to improve, recurrent symptoms, or new injury. As in preoperative patients, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is the most valuable imaging method for postoperative evaluation of the knee...   Parasitic and Fungal Disease of Bones and Joints - Seminars in Musculoskeletal Radiology Among the musculoskeletal infections, fungal and parasitic diseases are infrequent and may have a nonspecific imaging factor. The incidences of fungal and parasitic bone infections are related to geographic distribution, ethnic and nutritional factors, and occupation. Immunocompromise and ease of travel can lead to increased incidence. These are a group of chronic disorders, and delayed diagnosis is common because radiographs, computed tomography, isotope studies, and magnetic resonance imaging are useful but often do not have specific signs for determination of the causative infective fungal or parasitic organism     December 28, 2004   Interobserver Reproducibility in the Interpretation of Bone Scans From Patients Suspected of Having Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy - Clinical Nuclear Medicine Conclusion: This study shows that using very simple methodology, it is possible to identify some scintigraphic patterns in which there is disagreement among observers and whose interpretations vary. As the results are returned to the participants, they can compare their own interpretations with those of their peers. This aspect could be useful in continuing education in medical imaging...   Comparison of metric analysis of spinal structures, exemplarily of the ligamentum flavum, obtained with CT and MRI - European Journal of Radiology Mean values did not differ significantly. The correlation coefficients varied between 0.69 and 0.98. The best correlation occurred comparing the same techniques in different windowing and weighting. Correlating different techniques the combination of CT bone window and T1 weighted images presented the best result...Conclusions: Because of the excellent correlation between the examined techniques CT as well as MRI can equally be used to measure distances of spinal structures...   MR Imaging of the Wrist: Comparison between 1.5- and 3-T MR Imaging-Preliminary Experience - Radiology Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained from 25 healthy volunteers and 15 consecutive patients with chronic wrist pain or suspected carpal mass, and 1.5- and 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the wrist was prospectively performed with comparable sequence parameters and surface coils of the same geometric design...   Change in Knee Cartilage T2 at MR Imaging after Running: A Feasibility Study - Radiology All participants provided informed consent to participate in this study, which was approved by the institutional review board of Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The purpose of the study was to determine the feasibility of cartilage T2 mapping in the evaluation of response of femoral and tibial cartilage to running exercise...     December 27, 2004   Tuberculous arthritis of the appendicular skeleton: MR imaging appearances - European Journal of Radiology Tuberculosis of the appendicular skeleton is an uncommon infection caused by the tuberculous bacilli and constitutes only 1-3% of all tuberculosis infections. MR imaging features of tuberculous arthritis include bone marrow oedema, cortical erosions, synovitis, joint effusion, tenosynovitis, soft tissue collections, and myositis. These imaging features are at times non-specific, but in the correct clinical context help in diagnosis of tuberculosis...   Definition of pertinent parameters for the evaluation of articular cartilage repair tissue with high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging - European Journal of Radiology To evaluate articular cartilage repair tissue after biological cartilage repair, we propose a new technique of non-invasive, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and define a new classification system. For the definition of pertinent variables the repair tissue of 45 patients treated with three different techniques for cartilage repair (microfracture, autologous osteochondral transplantation, and autologous chondrocyte transplantation) was analyzed 6 and 12 months after the procedure... December 23, 2004   Cystic degeneration of medullary bone infarction evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging correlated with pathologic examination - Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal Conclusion: MRI is a valuable tool in diagnosing cystic degeneration of medullary infarction. Findings such as unenhanced lesions with well-defined margins are suggestive of fluid collection. The presence of dystrophic calcification and the thinned, but intact, cortex may suggest a benign underlying process such as medullary infarct...   Quantification of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging of the knee in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis based on pharmacokinetic modeling - Magnetic Resonance Imaging Improved management of arthritis requires a reliable, quantifiable, noninvasive method to monitor the degree of inflammation and therapeutic response during the early phase of the disease. For this purpose, the uptake of Gd-DTPA in the distal femoral physis and synovium in children with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) was evaluated with a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model and dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging... December 22, 2004   Arthroscopic posteromedial release for osteoarthritic knees with flexion contracture - Arthroscopy The improvement in JOA score was less for the IR group, from 54.5 to 66.2 points, than for the S group, from 62.3 to 79.6 points. Five knees from the IR group and 1 from the S group were converted to total knee arthroplasty...Conclusions: Knees with relatively advanced OA, for which arthroscopic debridement has conventionally been contraindicated, can be treated with PMR if they are selected properly based on MRI findings...   MRI of osteonecrosis - Clinical Radiology Osteonecrosis is a relatively common condition, which may be idiopathic or secondary to a variety of clinical situations. It may involve the subarticular region of a joint, when it is commonly referred to as ischaemic necrosis, or the metaphyseal regions of long bones, when it is referred to as bone infarction. In both situations, early lesions may be radiographically occult. However, magnetic resonance imaging is very sensitive in identifying and characterizing osteonecrosis...     December 20, 2004   Scintigraphic findings in synovial sarcoma with structural correlation - Australasian Radiology Synovial sarcoma is a relatively rare malignant soft tissue tumour. It is highly aggressive, tends to occur in young adults and has a poor prognosis. The scintigraphic findings in 10 patients with histopathologically proven synovial sarcoma were reviewed. Most of the lesions occurred in the extremities and intense uptake of thallium was observed on 30-min and 4-h imaging in almost all cases...   Reference ranges for bone densitometers adopted Australia-wide: Geelong osteoporosis study - Australasian Radiology Bone densitometry reports a measure of fracture risk in comparison with young adults (T-scores) and age-matched peers (Z-scores). To date, each manufacturer has provided its own reference range resulting in lack of uniformity. The Australia and New Zealand Bone and Mineral Society and Osteoporosis Australia have recognized the need to standardize the reference range and have recommended that data generated by the Geelong Osteoporosis Study (GOS) be used Australia-wide...   Imaging in early rheumatoid arthritis: roles of magnetic resonance imaging, ultrasonography, conventional radiography and computed tomography - Best Practice & Research: Clinical Rheumatology Efficient methods for diagnosis, monitoring and prognostication are essential in early rheumatoid arthritis (RA). While conventional X-rays only visualize the late signs of preceding disease activity, there is evidence for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ultrasonography being highly sensitive for early inflammatory and destructive changes in RA joints, and for MRI findings being sensitive to change and of predictive value for future progressive X-ray damage... December 17, 2004   Medical Imaging of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration: Current Status of Imaging - Spine New and potentially useful imaging strategies for spine imaging include dynamic computed tomography, dynamic magnetic resonance imaging, functional magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion imaging, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy...Conclusions: Technological advances in magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography imaging continue to offer more opportunities to investigate and diagnose back pain and intervertebral disc degeneration...     December 15, 2004   Potential MR Signs of Recurrent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: Initial Experience - Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography Tenosynovitis was seen in 9/15 with and 9/26 without recurrent CTS. Counterintuitively, the nerve was more palmar with recurrent CTS than without...Conclusion: Only proximal enlargement, tenosynovitis, and the rare mass may help to diagnose recurrent CTS by MR. However, there appears to be a subgroup of patients with recurrent neuropathy related to an excessively superficial median nerve...   Positron emission tomography imaging of musculoskeletal tumors in the shoulder girdle - Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery The shoulder girdle presents unique features for the preoperative planning of musculoskeletal tumors. This is the first trial to evaluate positron emission tomography (PET) analysis for preoperative planning in shoulder girdle tumors. Fifty-two patients were examined with fluorine 18 fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-PET and/or alpha-methyltyrosine (FMT)-PET... December 14, 2004   Practice, training, and assessment among experts performing musculoskeletal ultrasonography: Toward the development of an international consensus of educational standards for ultrasonography for rheumatologists - Arthritis Care and Research Conclusion: This study highlights differences in training and practice between individual expert ultrasonographers and between specialty backgrounds. In particular, there appears to be no formal training regimen and competency assessment is uncommon. The establishment of a core set of internationally applicable educational standards for MUS training for rheumatologists is required...     December 13, 2004   The role of ultrasonographic measurements of the median nerve in the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome - Clinical Radiology Increased cross-sectional area of the median nerve was the most predictive measurement of carpal tunnel syndrome. Using the ROC curve, a cut-off value of >10.5 mm2 at the level of pisiform bone provided a diagnostic sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 94.7%...Conclusion: The ultrasonographic measurement of the median nerve cross-sectional area is a sensitive, specific and useful non-invasive method for the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome...   Ultrasonographic assessment of mild and moderate idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome - Clinical Radiology Conclusion: Additional diagnostic confirmation can be provided by ultrasonography and may be preferred as the initial step instead of electrophysiological studies. Detection of at least two of the three criteria (median nerve CSA >9 mm2 at pisiform level, swelling ratio��1.3, and palmar displacement >2.5 mm) may be helpful for the verification of the diagnosis... December 10, 2004   Radiological Case of the Month: Diffuse pigmented villonodular synovitis - Applied Radiology A 20-year-old Brazilian man with a history of a right-knee sports injury 2 years prior presented with 2 weeks of right-knee pain and swelling. He denied any history of fever, chills, or any other constitutional symptoms. Physical examination revealed slightly erythematous swelling of the right knee without point of tenderness or limitation of motion... December 09, 2004   ISSLS Prize Winner: A Study of Diffusion in Human Lumbar Discs: A Serial Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study Documenting the Influence of the Endplate on Diffusion in Normal and Degenerate Discs - Spine Conclusions: Serial postcontrast magnetic resonance imaging studies offer a reliable method of assessing the diffusion of the discs and the functional status of the endplate cartilage. Endplate cartilage damage increases with age and produces considerable changes in diffusion. The present study has described reliable signs by which these damages can be identified in vivo... December 07, 2004   Imaging of lumbosacral transitional vertebrae - Clinical Radiology Lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV) are a common finding in the general population. Their clinical significance is controversial with no consensus as to their relationship to low back pain or disc prolapse. However, on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) they may be difficult to positively identify on sagittal sequences and can lead to confusion with respect to numbering of lumbar discs and vertebrae, with the consequent risk of surgical intervention at an inappropriate level...   Further doubt is cast on the significance of the high intensity zone - Clinical Radiology When the high intensity zone (HIZ) was first described in 1992 many hoped that that we had seen the end of discography as an invasive test for symptomatic disc degeneration. The fact that discography is still practised in many centres, 12 years later, tells us that our hopes were not realised. The demonstration that stress discography can induce a pain response in entirely asymptomatic individuals...     December 06, 2004   Correlation and sex differences between ankle and knee cartilage morphology determined by quantitative magnetic resonance imaging - Annals of Rheumatic Diseases Conclusions: Only moderate correlations in cartilage morphology of healthy subjects were found between knee and ankle. It is therefore impractical to estimate knee joint cartilage loss a posteriori in cross sectional studies by measuring the hind foot and then applying a scaling factor. Sex differences in cartilage morphology do not explain differences in osteoarthritis incidence between men and women in the knee and ankle... December 02, 2004   Case Report: A man with an enlarging foot mass - Canadian Medical Association Journal A 32-year-old man was referred to our orthopedic service for evaluation of a left plantarmedial forefoot mass that had been present for at least 2 years. He had had intermittent foot pain in the past but currently denied any pain or difficulty walking, even with footwear. He had received dialysis for the past 6 years for end-stage renal disease of unknown cause. He had no history of diabetes, gout, pseudogout or injury or surgery to the foot or ankle, but he did have cerebral damage due to solvent and alcohol abuse...   Cartilage Thickness in Cadaveric Ankles: Measurement with Double-Contrast Multi-Detector Row CT Arthrography versus MR Imaging - Radiology Double-contrast arthrography followed by multi-detector row CT, as compared with 3D FS-SPGR MR imaging, enabled more accurate measurement of the physical cartilage thickness in the ankle...Conclusion: In this study of five cadaveric ankles, multi-detector row CT arthrography was more accurate than 3D FS-SPGR MR imaging for measurement of articular cartilage thickness in the ankle...