Radiographics : a review publication of the Radiological Society of North America, Inc
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The spectrum of female urethral and periurethral disorders includes both benign and malignant entities. Establishing an accurate clinical diagnosis may be challenging because symptoms and physical findings frequently overlap among the various entities. ⋯ Similarly, the introduction of high-resolution surface and intracavitary transducers in conjunction with three-dimensional acquisition have enhanced the role of US in this clinical setting. High-resolution MR imaging and real-time US have exciting potential as tools for more comprehensive analysis of the pathophysiologic features of the complex disorders that affect the female urethra and periurethral tissues.
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Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disorder that is characterized by noncaseous epithelioid cell granulomas, which may affect almost any organ. Thoracic involvement is common and accounts for most of the morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. Thoracic radiologic abnormalities are seen at some stage in approximately 90% of patients with sarcoidosis, and an estimated 20% develop chronic lung disease leading to pulmonary fibrosis. ⋯ At high-resolution CT, the most typical findings of pulmonary involvement are micronodules with a perilymphatic distribution, fibrotic changes, and bilateral perihilar opacities. Atypical manifestations, such as masslike or alveolar opacities, honeycomb-like cysts, miliary opacities, mosaic attenuation, tracheobronchial involvement, and pleural disease, and complications such as aspergillomas, also may be seen. To achieve a timely diagnosis and help reduce associated morbidity and mortality, it is essential to recognize both the typical and the atypical radiologic manifestations of the disease, take note of features that may be suggestive of diseases other than sarcoidosis, and correlate imaging features with pathologic findings to help narrow the differential diagnosis.
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Neurocysticercosis is a neurologic parasitic disease caused by the encysted larva of the tapeworm Taenia solium and is the most important parasitic disease of the human central nervous system. It is the most common cause of acquired epilepsy in endemic settings and constitutes a public health challenge for most of the developing world. Nowadays, however, as a result of globalization, neurocysticercosis is being seen more frequently in developed countries as well. ⋯ Radiologists must be aware of its imaging appearance, which is quite variable, as is the differential diagnosis. Imaging findings depend on several factors, including the stage of the life cycle of T solium at presentation; the number and location (ie, subarachnoid, cisternal, or intraventricular) of parasites; and associated complications such as vascular involvement (ie, arteritis with or without infarction), inflammatory response (ie, edema, gliosis, or arachnoiditis), and, in ventricular forms, degree of obstruction. Thus, the diagnostic approach, management, and prognosis for neurocysticercosis differ widely depending on the type of infection.
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Patients often present to the emergency department with a wide variety of nontraumatic infectious, inflammatory, and neoplastic conditions of the head and neck. Because the use of cervical and neck computed tomography (CT) has become routine in the emergency setting, knowledge of the imaging findings of common acute conditions of the head and neck is essential to ensure an accurate diagnosis of these potentially life-threatening conditions, which include oral cavity infections, tonsillitis and peritonsillar abscess, sialadenitis, parotiditis, diskitis, thrombophlebitis, periorbital and orbital cellulitis, infectious cervical lymphadenopathy, and various neoplasms. ⋯ Familiarity with these conditions enables the radiologist to make a prompt diagnosis, assess the extent of disease, and evaluate for potential complications. CT is the first-line imaging modality in the emergency setting; however, magnetic resonance imaging plays an important secondary role.
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Quality initiatives: anatomy and pathophysiology of errors occurring in clinical radiology practice.
The Joint Commission requires development of comprehensive error detection systems that incorporate root cause analyses for all sentinel events. To prevent medical errors from occurring, there is a need for a readily available and easy-to-implement system for detecting, classifying, and managing mistakes. The wide spectrum of interrelated contributing factors makes the classification of errors difficult. ⋯ Further considerations should include nonmedical impact of the error, including legal, social, and economic effects on both the patient and the system. Rather than focusing the investigation on blaming individuals for active failures, the primary effort should be to discover latent system failures that can be remedied at a departmental level. Such an error classification system will decrease the likelihood of future errors and diminish their adverse impact.