La Radiologia medica
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La Radiologia medica · Oct 2014
ReviewTransthoracic ultrasound in the assessment of pleural and pulmonary diseases: use and limitations.
Interest in transthoracic ultrasound (US) procedures increased after the availability of portable US equipment suitable for use at the patient's bedside. It is possible to detect space-occupying lesions of the pleura, pleural effusion, focal or diffuse pleural thickening and subpleural lesions of the lung, even in emergency settings. Transthoracic US is useful as a guidance system for thoracentesis and peripheral lesion biopsy, where it minimises the occurrence of pneumothorax and haemorrhage. ⋯ In order to clarify some confusion and to report on the state of the art, we present a review of the literature on transthoracic US in diseases of the pleura and peripheral lung regions and our own clinical experience over 3 decades. The review focuses on quality assurance procedures and their value in diagnostic imaging and patient monitoring and warns against possible inappropriate indications and misleading information. Thoracic US is much more than "fishing for the moon in the well".
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La Radiologia medica · Oct 2014
Comparative StudyRole of whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI in detecting bone metastasis.
The aim of this study was to compare the results of whole-body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (DW-MR) imaging with staging based on computed tomography (CT) and nuclear scintigraphy using Tc99m results as the standard of reference. ⋯ Whole-body DW-MR imaging was more sensitive in the detection of osseous metastases than were skeletal scintigraphy and CT bone survey.