Journal of thoracic imaging
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Comparative Study
Postmortem imaging of blunt chest trauma using CT and MRI: comparison with autopsy.
Postmortem examination of chest trauma is an important domain in forensic medicine, which is today performed using autopsy. Since the implementation of cross-sectional imaging methods in forensic medicine such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a number of advantages in comparison with autopsy have been described. Within the scope of validation of cross-sectional radiology in forensic medicine, the comparison of findings of postmortem imaging and autopsy in chest trauma was performed. ⋯ The sensitivity and specificity of our results demonstrate that postmortem CT and MRI are useful diagnostic methods for assessing chest trauma in forensic medicine as a supplement to autopsy. Further radiologic-pathologic case studies are necessary to define the role of postmortem CT and MRI as a single examination modality.
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Case Reports
Dendriform pulmonary ossification in a patient with a past history of giant cell tumor in femur.
Diffuse pulmonary ossification most commonly occurs in men in their fifth and sixth decades of life and is usually associated with diffuse and chronic lung disease, cardiac disease, or other systemic disorders. In this report, we describe a case of dendriform pulmonary ossification with a past history of giant cell tumor in the femur that occurred 8 years before. ⋯ The patient was young (30 y old) and had no chronic lung or cardiac diseases. We speculate that the pulmonary ossification might have been due to dissemination of bone cells into the pulmonary circulation during bone curettage.
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The early diagnosis and complete anatomic evaluation of pulmonary artery sling, a congenital vascular anomaly in which left pulmonary artery arises from the right pulmonary artery, is paramount for proper patient management, because patients with this disorder frequently have other congenital anomalies resulting in high morbidity and mortality. Until recently, pulmonary artery sling in the neonate has been established with standard radiologic imaging studies such as plain radiographs, barium swallow studies, fluoroscopy-guided airway studies, and echocardiograms. ⋯ This case report presents a rare incidence of type 2 hypoplastic pulmonary artery sling in a neonate associated with right lung agenesis, hypoplastic aortic arch, and long segment tracheal stenosis. Multidetector computed tomography combined with 3-dimensional evaluation was particularly helpful in making a correct diagnosis of the complicated anatomic anomalies found in this case.
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To review the high-resolution computed tomography (CT) and histologic findings of acute exacerbation of chronic interstitial pneumonia and to assess the potential value of CT and histologic findings in predicting prognosis. ⋯ The CT findings of acute exacerbation of chronic interstitial pneumonia consist of diffuse, multifocal, or peripheral parenchymal opacification superimposed on reticulation. Histologic findings of OP are superior to CT in predicting prognosis.
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Traumatic pulmonary pseudocyst constitutes an uncommon, though well recognized, manifestation of closed chest trauma. It is usually encountered in young patients, whose compliant chest wall permits the transmission of great compressive forces to the lung parenchyma and the laceration of the latter. Traumatic pulmonary pseudocyst is usually detected during the imaging evaluation of multi-injured patients with the use of computed tomography, as it is often not apparent in the initial supine anteroposterior chest radiographs. We present 5 cases of trauma patients, in whom we detected the presence of multiple traumatic pulmonary pseudocysts during the imaging evaluation of blunt chest trauma with the use of computed tomography.