European radiology
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Clinical Trial
Integrated cardio-thoracic imaging with ECG-Gated 64-slice multidetector-row CT: initial findings in 133 patients.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of assessing the underlying respiratory disease as well as cardiac function during ECG-gated CT angiography of the chest with 64-slice multidetector-row CT (MDCT). One hundred thirty-three consecutive patients in sinus rhythm with known or suspected ventricular dysfunction underwent an ECG-gated CT angiographic examination of the chest without beta-blockers using the following parameters: (1) collimation: 32 x 0.6 mm with z-flying focal spot for the acquisition of 64 overlapping 0.6-mm slices (Sensation 64; Siemens); rotation time: 0.33 s; pitch: 0.3; 120 kV; 200 mAs; ECG-controlled dose modulation (ECG-pulsing) and (2) 120 ml of a 35% contrast agent. Data were reconstructed: (1) to evaluate the underlying respiratory disease (1-mm thick lung and mediastinal scans reconstructed at 55% of the R-R interval; i.e., "morphologic scans") and (2) to determine right (RVEF) and left (LVEF) ventricular ejection fractions (short-axis systolic and diastolic images; Argus software; i.e., "functional scans"). ⋯ In the remaining nine patients, an imprecise segmentation of the right and left ventricular cavities was considered as a limiting factor for precise calculation of end-systolic and end-diastolic ventricular volumes. The mean (+/- SD) DLP value of the examinations was 279.86 (+/- 117.50) mGy.cm. Assessment of underlying respiratory disease and cardiac function from the same data set was achievable in 92% of the patients with ECG-gated 64-slice MDCT.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Imaging of small intestinal Crohn's disease: comparison between MR enteroclysis and conventional enteroclysis.
The purpose of this study was to compare MR enteroclysis (MRE) with conventional enteroclysis (CE) in patients with small intestinal Crohn's disease. Fifty-two consecutive patients with known or suspected Crohn's disease underwent MR and conventional enteroclysis, which was considered the gold standard. Eleven imaging features, classified in three groups, mucosal, transmural and extraintestinal, were subjectively evaluated by two experienced radiologists. ⋯ Additional findings demonstrated on MRE images included fibrofatty proliferation in 15 cases and mesenteric lymphadenopathy in 19 cases. MRE strongly correlates with CE in the detection of individual lesions expressing small intestinal Crohn's disease. It provides additional information from the mesenteries; however, its capability to detect subtle lesions is still inferior to conventional enteroclysis.