AJR. American journal of roentgenology
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Oct 2006
Epidemiologic, clinical, and imaging findings in brucellosis patients with osteoarticular involvement.
The aim of this study was to assess the epidemiologic and clinical features, complications, imaging findings, and outcomes for brucellosis patients with osteoarticular involvement. ⋯ Brucellosis is endemic to some regions. MRI is the method of choice for diagnosing osteoarticular and spinal complications of human brucellosis, especially during the early phase. It is important to differentiate tuberculous spondylodiskitis from brucellar spondylodiskitis because proper treatment for each of these diseases can prevent complications. The radiologic findings for these two forms of spondylodiskitis are similar, so serologic testing for brucellosis is necessary in such cases.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Oct 2006
Transcutaneous contrast-enhanced sonography of peripheral lung lesions.
Transpulmonary sonography contrast agents, in conjunction with contrast-specific imaging techniques, are increasingly accepted in clinical use for diagnostic imaging of several organs. Anatomically, the lung is characterized by dual blood sources, supplied from both the pulmonary and bronchial arteries. Contrast-enhanced sonography enables us to determine whether the pulmonary or the bronchial arteries are the source of blood to lung lesions, depending on the time to enhancement and the extent of enhancement after contrast agent application. ⋯ This article reports our first experience with transcutaneous contrast-enhanced sonography for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Oct 2006
Chance-type fractures of the thoracolumbar spine: imaging analysis in 53 patients.
Chance-type fractures are subtle unstable injuries that are often associated with intraabdominal injuries. CT-based observations made during routine interpretations revealed involvement of a burst component to this fracture pattern and a clue on the transaxial images to its presence. The purpose of this review was to determine how often these features occurred in a retrospective study of a large sample because these findings influence diagnosis and management. ⋯ Intraabdominal injuries occurred in 40% of flexion-distraction thoracolumbar fractures in our study cohort, which is slightly lower than previously reported. About half of the patients with this injury displayed a burst-type component that could have a significant influence on surgical management. The dissolving pedicle sign can assist in recognition of this often subtle injury on transaxial CT.