Journal of computer assisted tomography
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J Comput Assist Tomogr · Jan 2003
Sudden cardiac arrest during computed tomography examination: clinical findings and "dense abdominal veins" on computed tomography.
We report imaging findings in five patients who had sudden cardiac arrest during contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT). We observed strikingly dense abdominal veins, variable degrees of arterial enhancement, and poor abdominal visceral enhancement. Comparison with a control group of 30 patients revealed a statistically significant increase in mean enhancement of the abdominal veins (including the inferior vena cava, bilateral renal veins, and major tributaries of the hepatic vein) (Kruskal-Wallis test, P< 0.05). ⋯ Despite resuscitation, two patients died and three convalesced. In summary, sudden cardiac arrest is characterized by "dense abdominal veins" on CT in the absence of the cardiac pump function. This effect was presumably the result of forced reflux and stagnation of contrast medium in the abdominal veins without any dilution with the circulating blood, leading to a markedly dense appearance of these venous structures.
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J Comput Assist Tomogr · Jan 2003
Case ReportsCanavan disease: diffusion magnetic resonance imaging findings.
A 15-month-old boy with Canavan disease is reported in whom a restricted diffusion pattern on diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (high signal on b = 1,000 mm2/s images and low apparent diffusion coefficient [ADC] values) was evident in the affected regions of the brain, including the peripheral white matter, globi pallidi, thalami, brainstem, dorsal pons, and dentate nuclei. The ADC values at these regions ranged from 0.42 to 0.56 x 10(-3) mm2/s compared with the normal ADC values from the uninvolved deep frontal white matter (0.68-0.92 x 10(-3) mm2/s). The known histopathologic features in Canavan disease include edematous and gelatinous brain tissue associated with diffuse vacuolization. Considering these and the diffusion MRI findings in this patient, it is likely that existence of a gel (gelatinous) state rather than the usual sol state of water molecules in the affected brain regions accounted for the restricted diffusion pattern in Canavan disease.
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J Comput Assist Tomogr · Nov 2002
Case ReportsHemichorea-hemiballism in primary diabetic patients: MR correlation.
The purpose of this work was to describe the characteristic imaging findings and clinical presentations in patients with hemichorea-hemiballism (HC-HB) associated with nonketotic hyperglycemia (NKH) in primary diabetes mellitus (DM). ⋯ In patients with HC-HB with NKH in primary DM, T1-weighted MR images showed hyperintense lesions of the putamen or caudate. Early recognition of these imaging characteristics may facilitate the diagnosis of primary DM with hyperglycemia and lead to prompt and appropriate therapy.
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J Comput Assist Tomogr · Nov 2002
Case ReportsTranslocation of Broca's area to the contralateral hemisphere as the result of the growth of a left inferior frontal glioma.
We report a case of a patient with a left inferior frontal glioma in whom language functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigms produced activation of Broca's area on the right and Wernicke's area on the left. We propose that tumor invasion of the left frontal operculum led to cortical reorganization and interhemispheric transfer of Broca's area. This case emphasizes the importance of preoperative fMRI in assessing the location of eloquent cortices adjacent to a tumor and in guiding neurosurgical decision-making.
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J Comput Assist Tomogr · Nov 2002
Case ReportsGadolinium-enhanced multidetector CT angiography of the thoracoabdominal aorta.
A 93-year-old patient with a cardiac pacemaker and biochemical renal failure presented with back pain suspicious for dissection. We performed gadolinium-enhanced thoracoabdominal multidetector CT angiography using eight-channel multidetector CT. Uniform aortic enhancement of 140 HU was sufficient to exclude aortic dissection and defined an unruptured infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm.