AJR. American journal of roentgenology
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Jan 2009
Controlled Clinical TrialCT-guided percutaneous catheter drainage of acute necrotizing pancreatitis: clinical experience and observations in patients with sterile and infected necrosis.
The purpose of this study was to report on clinical experience with and observations made during primary CT-guided percutaneous catheter drainage of acute necrotizing pancreatitis and to compare results among patients with sterile and those with infected necrosis. ⋯ In our experience, primary CT-guided percutaneous catheter drainage was successful for approximately one half of the patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis. The presence of multisystem organ failure appears to be a more important indicator of outcome than does the presence of infection.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Jan 2009
Comparative Study3-T MRI of the shoulder: is MR arthrography necessary?
The purpose of this study is to report the diagnostic sensitivity of 3-T conventional MRI versus MR arthrography of the shoulder in the same patient population. ⋯ In this series, MR arthrography showed statistically significant increased sensitivity for detection of partial-thickness articular surface supraspinatus tears, anterior labral tears, and SLAP tears compared with conventional MRI at 3 T. On the basis of the above findings, we perform 3-T MR arthrography on patients for whom anterior labral tears, SLAP tears, and partial-thickness supraspinatus tendon tears are suspected clinically.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Dec 2008
Clinical TrialDiagnostic and interventional MRI of the sacroiliac joints using a 1.5-T open-bore magnet: a one-stop-shopping approach.
The objective of our study was to prospectively test the hypothesis that combined diagnostic and interventional MRI of the sacroiliac joints can be performed efficiently and effectively. ⋯ We accept the hypothesis that combined diagnostic and interventional MRI of the sacroiliac joints can be performed efficiently and effectively for comprehensive diagnosis and therapy of lower back pain originating from the sacroiliac joints.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Dec 2008
Alphabetic bias in the selection of reviewers for the American Journal of Roentgenology.
This study was performed to determine whether the number of invitations extended to American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR) reviewers is biased toward reviewers with last names that start with early letters of the alphabet. ⋯ During the study period, there is clear evidence of bias toward reviewers whose last names begin with a letter at the beginning of the alphabet. This bias is both statistically and clinically significant, with reviewers with names starting with letters at the beginning of the alphabet invited to review almost twice as often as those with names starting with letters toward the end of the alphabet. This bias is most likely due to "satisfaction of search" by the assigning editors who tend to invite the first panel of reviewers who meet their criteria on a list of names presented to them in alphabetic order. Reviewers' good will can be enhanced if particular alphabetic groups are not overloaded with reviews. Journal editors can help to avoid this bias by consciously spreading review invitations evenly throughout the whole alphabet. Redesign of editorial workflow software could help to avoid this alphabetic bias.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Dec 2008
MDCT evaluation of blunt abdominal trauma: clinical significance of free intraperitoneal fluid in males with absence of identifiable injury.
The purpose of our study was to determine the clinical significance of the isolated finding of free intraperitoneal fluid on 64-MDCT in male patients who have undergone blunt trauma. ⋯ With 64 MDCT, the isolated finding of free intraperitoneal fluid in male patients who have undergone blunt trauma is seen in approximately 3% of patients. The size and mean attenuation coefficient measurements may add useful information regarding the clinical management of these patients, suggesting that small amounts of low-attenuation free fluid, in the absence of identifiable injury, may have no significant clinical implications.