La Radiologia medica
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The authors report their experience with US in gynecologic emergencies through a retrospective study on 105 patients presenting with acute abdomen of suspected gynecologic nature. The series included 3 groups of patients: Group I: 59 patients all submitted to immediate surgery. The following pathologic conditions were observed: ectopic pregnancy (23 cases), torsion or hemorrhage from ovarian cysts (13 cases), pyosalpinx or tubo-ovarian abscess (9 cases), torsion of pedunculated uterine leiomyoma (7 cases), intraperitoneal bleeding from hemorrhagic corpus luteum (6 cases), hematocolpos and hematometra from imperforate hymen (3 cases). ⋯ The study was aimed at evaluating the role of US in identifying both lesion and peritoneal involvement, and in the diagnosis of nature. US proved a valuable tool in the first two diagnostic steps, allowing to confirm/dismiss active pathologic conditions, to indicate the medical/surgical treatment (immediate or delayed), to detect associated pathologies to study with further examinations. As for lesion nature, US alone proved poorly useful if not correlated with an accurate clinical history.
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La Radiologia medica · Mar 1992
[Magnetic resonance venogram of the intracranial circulation. Technique, anatomy, indications].
The authors standardized the MR-venography technique in 50 patients for the study of intracranial venous circulation and identified, for each vessel and district, the best acquisitions and rotations. The possible diagnostic applications of MR-angiography were also evaluated. The examinations were performed with a 1.5-T superconductive magnet (Magnetom, Siemens) and linear head coil. ⋯ The veins of the antero-inferior group were clearly demonstrated with 2D sequences acquired on the axial plane and after arterial saturation, rotated in the post-processing on the sagittal and coronal axes from -45 degrees to 45 degrees. Small veins--i.e., veins of the scalp, diploic and emissary veins, and inferior sagittal sinus--were well visualized with 2D sequences acquired on the coronal plane an rotated during post-processing on the z and x axes 0 degrees-180 degrees following i.v. injection of gadolinium. MR-venography is a new technique which can be useful to answer such specific diagnostic questions as the staging of brain neoplasm contiguous to intracranial venous vessels, the study of arteriovenous malformations and thrombosis on intracranial venous sinuses, as it has been demonstrated in 5 pathologic cases.
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La Radiologia medica · Dec 1991
[Cranial trauma: the predictability of the presentation symptoms as a screening for radiologic study].
A prospective study was performed on 4,262 consecutive patients who had had skull examinations for recent head trauma. Clinical signs and symptoms and patient history were correlated with skull fractures and intracranial sequelae as identified on CT studies, in order to evaluate the predictive value of each clinical finding and to identify high-yield referral criteria. Ninety-seven skull fractures (3%) and 32 intracranial sequelae (0.7%) were observed. ⋯ The most predictive finding for brain injury was the depressed level of consciousness: brain injuries were never observed in fully conscious patients; in altered consciousness with GCS 15-13 we observed 4% of skull fractures with no sequelae; at GCS values 12-9, 61% of skull fractures and 20% of sequelae were present, whereas at GCS less than 8, 100% of complicated fracture were observed. The finding of skull fracture showed 33% of predictivity for brain damage, which was, however, always associated with "high or moderate risk" clinical signs. Therefore, the authors suggest some guidelines for the management of patients with recent head trauma, including referral criteria for X-rays or CT studies, based on signs and symptoms with high, intermediate and low risk of developing intracranial sequelae.
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La Radiologia medica · Dec 1991
Comparative Study[The incidence of disk changes in volleyball players. The magnetic resonance findings].
In order to evaluate the to potential hazards related to athletic functional overload on the intervertebral disk we studied with MRI the incidence of intervertebral disk abnormalities in a group of 45 volunteers who had been playing professional volleyball for 3-7 years. As a control group we examined with MRI 30 professional swimmers as well. Among the volley-ball players the incidence of intervertebral disk alterations was 44.4%; they were represented by 8 cases of disk degeneration, 11 cases of bulging and 9 disk herniations (in 8 patients the simultaneous presence of more than one lesion was observed). ⋯ Among the 26 athletes who were trained with exercises that caused significant functional overload, 16 had intervertebral disk lesions at MRI (61.5%). Moreover, our data showed that the correlation of the incidence of disk lesions with the type of training (and relative varying degree of overload) is definitely more important than the one existing with the age of volley-ball players and the overall period of their athletic activity. MRI proved to be a useful technique for the early assessment of the intervertebral disk damage caused by an incorrect training in young athletes, even when asymptomatic.