La Radiologia medica
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La Radiologia medica · Apr 2010
Role of 64-slice cardiac computed tomography in the evaluation of patients with non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome.
This study was done to evaluate the feasibility, sensitivity and specificity of 64-slice computed tomography (CT) in identifying haemodynamically significant (>50%) coronary artery stenoses in patients with suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS) by correlating the CT findings with the clinical event and data provided by conventional coronary angiography (CCA). ⋯ In this type of emergency, coronary CT angiography could lead to considerably lower healthcare costs by identifying patients without coronary disease and allowing immediate discharge without any need for further diagnostic procedures.
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La Radiologia medica · Mar 2010
Impact of clinical data on chest radiography sensitivity in detecting pulmonary abnormalities in immunocompromised patients with suspected pneumonia.
Chest radiography (CXR) of immunocompromised patients has low sensitivity in the early evaluation of pulmonary abnormalities suspected to be infectious. The purpose of the study was to evaluate whether the knowledge of clinical data improves the diagnostic sensitivity of CXR in the particular setting of immunocompromised patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). ⋯ The sensitivity of CXR is too low to consider it a stand-alone technique for the evaluation of immunocompromised patients after HSCT with suspected pneumonia, even if the radiologist knows detailed clinical data. For these patients, an early chest CT evaluation is therefore recommended.
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La Radiologia medica · Mar 2010
Cerebral venous thrombosis: role of CT, MRI and MRA in the emergency setting.
It is often difficult to diagnose cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), an uncommon condition that more frequently affects young subjects, is responsible for 1%-2% of strokes in adults and has a subtle clinic onset. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and MR venography in the emergency setting and to discuss the risk factors, clinical presentation, outcome and follow-up of this disease. ⋯ Knowledge of the CT, MRI and MR-venography signs of CVT is crucial and enables an early diagnosis and timely treatment with heparin in the majority of cases. DSA should be reserved for doubtful cases only.
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La Radiologia medica · Feb 2010
Comparative StudyComputation of brain metabolite ratios in single-voxel proton MR spectroscopy: comparison between semiautomatic and automatic software.
Metabolite ratios are the measurements most commonly utilised for clinical applications of brain proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) [1]. We evaluated the agreement between the metabolite ratios calculated with semiautomatic and automatic software. ⋯ The difference between brain metabolite ratios calculated with the two software packages is not negligible and reflects spectral quality.
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La Radiologia medica · Feb 2010
Low-dose unenhanced CT protocols according to individual body size for evaluating suspected renal colic: cumulative radiation exposures.
The aim of this study was to assess the radiation dose of dose-reduced unenhanced abdominal multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scan protocols for suspected renal colic in patients within normal weight range and overweight-obese patients and to record the cumulative dose of repeated examinations. ⋯ Although radiation dose is nearly double in overweight-obese patients undergoing MDCT, it remains lower than that delivered by a standard-dose protocol. Patients with flank pain, who are often young, are at increased risk for serial CT examinations. Use of a low-dose protocol is mandatory in both normal-weight and obese patients to minimise radiation exposure.