Acta radiologica
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Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is an increasingly used method for investigation of brain white matter integrity in both research and clinical applications. Familiarity with normal variation of fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values and measurement reproducibility is essential when DTI measurements are interpreted in clinical patients. ⋯ In a normal adult population FA and ADC values of the brain white matter show regional variation. The repeatability of the ROI measurements also varies regionally. This regional variability must be acknowledged when these measurements are interpreted in clinical patients.
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With the chemical shift selective (CHESS) method, lingering fat signals remain because of the effects of nonuniformity in the magnetic field. One method to reduce this phenomenon is the use of pads filled with rice (rice pad), but the improvement in fat suppression effects with rice pads, as compared with conventional perfluorocarbon liquid pads, remains unclear. ⋯ The rice pad exhibited better performance in improving the fat suppression effect. Thus, the rice pad is a superior product that is inexpensive and simple to use.
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Computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) has been established as a first-line test in the acute pulmonary embolism (APE) diagnostic algorithm, but the assessment of the severity of APE by this method remains to be explored. ⋯ These results suggest that CTPA is a practical and accurate means for evaluating RV dysfunction of pulmonary embolism in patients without any underlying cardiopulmonary disease and can discriminate between severe and non-severe APE.
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Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the third most common cause of cardiovascular death. When PE is fatal, right ventricular failure usually occurs within the first few hours, so right ventricular dysfunction (RVD) should be diagnosed rapidly to identify patients who could benefit from fibrinolytic therapy. ⋯ PA obstructive index of more than 50% and RV/LV ratio >1.5 are useful diagnostic criteria for severe PE and poor patient outcome.
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Brain metastases and primary high-grade gliomas, including glioblastomas multiforme (GBM) and anaplastic astrocytomas (AA), may be indistinguishable by conventional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Identification of these tumors may have therapeutic consequences. ⋯ The results of this study demonstrate that MRS can differentiate high-grade gliomas from metastases, especially with peritumoral measurements, supporting the hypothesis that MRS can detect infiltration of tumor cells in the peritumoral edema.