AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology
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AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Aug 2003
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyIn-hospital morbidity and mortality after endovascular treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms in the United States, 1996-2000: effect of hospital and physician volume.
Endovascular therapy is increasingly being used for the treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms. Our purpose was to determine the risk of adverse outcomes after contemporary endovascular treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms in the United States. Patient, treating physician, and hospital characteristics were tested as potential outcome predictors, with particular attention paid to volume of care. ⋯ For patients with unruptured aneurysms treated in the United States from 1996 to 2000, endovascular treatment at high volume institutions or by high volume physicians was associated with significantly lower morbidity rates and modestly lower mortality rates. Length of stay was shorter and total hospital charges lower at high volume centers.
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AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Aug 2003
Comparative StudyMR imaging in the differential diagnosis of neurogenic foot drop.
Prolonged T2 relaxation time of denervated muscle has been described in several clinical and experimental studies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of MR imaging in the diagnosis of neurogenic muscle disorders compared with that of clinical and electrophysiologic examination. ⋯ MR imaging improves accuracy in the differential diagnosis of peripheral nerve lesions compared with that of EMG and can supplement EMG in the diagnosis of denervated muscles.
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AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Aug 2003
Comparative StudyThree-dimensional color Doppler sonography in carotid artery stenosis.
Color Doppler sonography (CDS) suffers from such disadvantages as high interobserver variability and problems with data presentation and storage. We therefore performed a prospective trial to assess the role of three-dimensional CDS (3D-CDS) in the evaluation of internal carotid artery stenosis (ICAS). ⋯ 3D-CDS findings correlate with those obtained by CDS and angiography; 3D-CDS also offers excellent interobserver correlation, positive predictive value, and specificity, approaching 100% for the detection of high-grade ICAS.
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AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Aug 2003
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyHow often do neuroradiologists perform sonography of the carotid arteries? A survey of academic and nonacademic radiology practices, with implications for fellowship training.
Debate in the neuroradiology community surrounds the amount of formal training in sonography of the carotid arteries that should be provided to fellows. This study was designed to assess current practice patterns at both academic and nonacademic practices regarding the performance of carotid sonography. ⋯ At most academic practices, neuroradiologists do not perform sonography of the carotid arteries. This may explain the reluctance of some fellowships to provide formal training in this technique. In contrast, although neuroradiologists perform carotid sonography at a majority of the nonacademic practices, the percentage of studies that they perform is small; moreover, neuroradiologists perform far fewer studies than do general radiologists or sonography specialists.
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AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Aug 2003
Comparative StudyThree-dimensional rotational spinal angiography in the evaluation and treatment of vascular malformations.
Conventional spinal angiography, although useful in providing angioarchitectural details of spinal vascular disease, has limitations. The advent of 3D angiography has provided a better comprehension of angioarchitectural detail when evaluating the intracranial circulation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of 3D angiography in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular malformations of the spine. ⋯ In this small series of patients, 3D angiography was safe and useful for evaluation of the 3D vascular anatomy of spinal vascular malformations.