Neuroimaging clinics of North America
-
Neuroimaging Clin. N. Am. · May 2003
ReviewExamining the role of cranial CT in the evaluation of patients with minor head injury: a systematic review.
This systematic review demonstrates that, in patients sustaining minor head injury with a history of loss of consciousness or amnesia, the proportion who subsequently have positive CT scans is not negligible. Published clinical prediction rules for selecting patients for subsequent CT examination are associated with a trade-off between sensitivity and specificity; therefore, a prediction rule with high sensitivity is expected to have relatively low specificity. Separate evaluation of the literature is required to determine the significance of positive and negative CT scans with respect to patient outcome.
-
Neuroimaging Clin. N. Am. · May 2003
ReviewImaging evaluation of sinusitis: diagnostic performance and impact on health outcome.
Sinusitis is a highly prevalent disease, with a significant impact on the health care economy. Sinus CT is the primary imaging modality for evaluation of acute and chronic sinusitis. ⋯ Although sinus CT has been criticized for lack of specificity and correlation with patients' clinical symptoms, sinus CT may provide pivotal objective information that affects treatment decisions for acute and chronic sinusitis. This article provides a clinical overview and reviews the role of imaging studies in diagnosis and treatment of sinusitis.
-
Neuroimaging Clin. N. Am. · May 2003
ReviewPercutaneous vertebroplasty: rationale, clinical outcomes, and future directions.
Percutaneous transpediculate vertebroplasty is an innovative and successful treatment of painful osteoporotic and pathologic compression fractures that are refractory to medical therapy. Large-scale clinical series have shown that vertebroplasty can provide significant pain relief with very low complication rates. Expectations of positive results of the ongoing randomized trials are high. With the accumulation of scientific data, technological advancements, and acceptance by the general community, vertebroplasty may be become the standard of care for treatment of painful vertebral body compression fractures.
-
Neuroimaging Clin. N. Am. · May 2003
ReviewAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis and primary lateral sclerosis: evidence-based diagnostic evaluation of the upper motor neuron.
Magnetic resonance imaging and MR spectroscopy are important tools in the diagnostic evaluation of patients with suspected motor neuron disease. Further investigation is needed to determine and to compare the utility of various neuroimaging markers for diagnosis and disease progression [112]. Newer MR tools, such as diffusion tensor imaging, magnetization transfer imaging, and functional MR imaging, have substantial promise as scientific and clinical tools in this ongoing endeavor.
-
Neuroimaging Clin. N. Am. · May 2003
ReviewHow different MR imaging criteria relate to the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis and its outcome.
This article reviews the evolution of MR imaging criteria used to diagnose multiple sclerosis (MS) over the past decade and a half to help demonstrate how these changes have influenced the sensitivity and specificity of diagnosing and treating patients with MS. The article discusses the benefits and drawbacks of making very specific diagnoses versus sensitive but less specific diagnoses. In addition, the application of these various diagnostic criteria to patient outcomes and clinical trials is reviewed.