AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology
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AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Jun 2011
Patient outcomes are better for unruptured cerebral aneurysms treated at centers that preferentially treat with endovascular coiling: a study of the national inpatient sample 2001-2007.
Practice patterns vary widely among centers with regard to the treatment of unruptured aneurysms. The purpose of the current study was to correlate outcome data with practice patterns, specifically the proportion of unruptured aneurysms treated with neurosurgical clipping versus endovascular coiling. ⋯ Centers that treated a higher percentage of unruptured aneurysms with coiling compared with clipping achieved markedly lower rates of morbidity and mortality. Our results also confirm that treatment by high-volume practitioners is associated with decreased morbidity.
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AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Jun 2011
Case ReportsSolitary hypothalamopituitary toxoplasmosis abscess in a patient with AIDS.
Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by an obligate intracellular protozoal parasite, Toxoplasma gondii. It is the most common cause of focal brain lesions in patients with AIDS. The imaging features and endocrine disorders of CNS toxoplasmosis in patients with AIDS are reviewed.
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AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Jun 2011
Apparent diffusion coefficient mapping for sinonasal diseases: differentiation of benign and malignant lesions.
CT and MR imaging features of benign and malignant sinonasal lesions are often nonspecific. Therefore, we evaluated the ADC-based differentiation of these lesions. ⋯ ADC mapping may be an effective MR imaging tool for the differentiation of benign/inflammatory lesions from malignant tumors in the sinonasal area.
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AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Jun 2011
Asymmetric mineralization of the arytenoid cartilages in patients without laryngeal cancer.
Sclerosis of the arytenoid cartilage may be seen as an incidental finding in patients who do not have laryngeal cancer but may also be an early sign of neoplastic infiltration. Our purpose was to determine the frequency of asymmetric mineralization, in particular sclerosis, of the arytenoid cartilages on CT scans in adults who have no history of laryngeal cancer. ⋯ Asymmetric mineralization of the arytenoid cartilages was seen in 12.9% of our study population. This should be taken into account when evaluating CT scans of patients with laryngeal cancer for arytenoid cartilage invasion to avoid false-positive reads.
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AJNR Am J Neuroradiol · Jun 2011
Medicare physician payment rules for 2011: a primer for the neurointerventionalist.
Physicians generally have been affected by significant changes in the patterns of medical practice evolving over the past several decades. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, also called ACA for short, impacts physician professional practice dramatically. Physicians are paid in the USA for their personal services. ⋯ Thus, in 1998, the sustainable growth rate system was introduced. In 2009, multiple unsuccessful attempts were made by Congress to repeal the formula. The mechanism of the sustainable growth rate includes three components that are incorporated into a statutory formula: expenditure targets, growth rate period and annual adjustments of payment rates for physician services.