La Radiologia medica
-
La Radiologia medica · May 1988
[Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the lumbar spine].
The ossification of the cervical posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is widely known and studied in Japan where a roentgenological incidence of 2.06% adults affected has been found. Data concerning the ossification of the lumbar posterior longitudinal ligament are few and occasional. An epidemiological survey on lumbar OPLL was performed by the authors in Matsumoto, Japan, on a total of 792 subjects, 554 of whom over the age of 35, by means of X-ray of the lumbar spine. ⋯ Lumbar OPLL was absent in the 238 subjects aged less than 34; it was the most prevalent after the age of 45 (5.1% in males and 4.5% in females). The ossification developed in two ways: continuous ossified layer extending over several vertebrae; circumscribed ossification of the ligament corresponding to the level of the intervertebral disk (retrodiscal type). The result of this epidemiological survey showed a roentgenological incidence of lumbar OPLL of the same magnitude than that of cervical OPLL.
-
The authors reviewed CT scans and supine chest X-ray of 47 patients affected by severe thoracic trauma, examined in 1985-86. The sensibility of the two methodologies in the assessment of pneumothorax was compared. ⋯ In 8 of the latter (44.4%) the diagnosis was made possible by the presence of indirect signs of pneumothorax only--the most frequent being the deep sulcus sign. The characterization of pneumothorax is important especially in the patients who need to be treated with mechanical ventilation therapy, or who are to undergo surgery in total anaesthesia.
-
La Radiologia medica · Jan 1988
[Traumatic lesions of the brachial plexus. Evaluation of 144 cases studied using direct cervical myelography and non-ionic contrast media].
The authors report their experience in 144 patients with traumatic brachial plexus injury who underwent Direct Cervical Myelography (DCM). Sometimes the diagnostic investigation was completed by CT. Various myelographic patterns are described: pseudomeningocele, missing sheet of the root, scarring lesions. ⋯ Scars often compress healthy roots, and may mask intraspinal injuries. In such cases, and when the spinal cord stretches towards the side of the lesion, Myelo-CT can be useful. DCM proved to be an extremely sensitive and specific method, which can be used as a first-choice radiological procedure in the study of traumatic injuries of the brachial plexus.
-
La Radiologia medica · Dec 1987
Comparative Study[Dynamic pulmonary scintigraphy with Tc99m radioaerosol for the evaluation of the permeability of the alveolo-capillary barrier].
Pulmonary clearance of small droplet 99mTc-DTPA radioaerosol was studied in 100 patients (12 normal subjects, N; 10 asymptomatic healthy smokers, FA; 31 patients with interstitial lung diseases, IP; 47 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease, BPCO). The first seven minutes of clearance were described with the function At = Ao*exp (-K*t) and the time constant K was considered representative of the 99mTc-DTPA clearance rate and hence of the alveolar-capillary barrier permeability. ⋯ No correlation was found between permeability and bronchial obstruction tests. The following conclusions were drawn: --99mTc-DTPA dynamic lung scanning is an easy, non-invasive method to assess derangements of alveolar-capillary barrier permeability secondary to epithelial damage; --permeability increase is a very early effect of cigarette smoke damage to the epithelium; --other mechanisms of epithelial injury are present in diffuse lung disease; --while the clinical role of this new pathophysiological test is not yet clear, it is likely that it may become a very early marker of pulmonary epithelial damage in diffuse lung disease.