Emergency radiology
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Emergency radiology · Dec 2005
Comparative StudyComparison of retrospectively ECG-gated and nongated MDCT of the chest in an emergency setting regarding workflow, image quality, and diagnostic certainty.
This study aims to assess the influence of ECG-gated acquisition on workflow and to compare image quality and diagnostic certainty for retrospectively ECG-gated and nongated multidetector computed tomography of the chest in the emergency suite. ⋯ Performing ECG gating in the emergency room did not slow down the diagnostic workup. ECG-gated acquisition performed better in the assessment of the aorta, but image quality for lung and bone structures was slightly reduced. Further studies are required to assess the influence of the imaging technique on the diagnostic outcome.
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Emergency radiology · Dec 2005
Coronal thick CT reconstruction: an alternative for initial chest radiography in trauma patients.
It has been proposed that the imaging workup of trauma patients be accelerated by omitting the initial chest radiography (CR) and directly performing a computed tomography (CT); however, the baseline CR is then lacking. The purpose of this study was to assess if coronal thick reconstructions generated from chest CT could present an adequate alternative for CR. Sixty trauma patients underwent bedside CR and multidetector row chest CT in the emergency room. ⋯ The location of indwelling devices was similarly and correctly depicted with both modalities. Coronal thick CT reconstructions provide a similar image quality and diagnostic accuracy compared with CR. These reconstructions may serve as an equivalent baseline image in trauma patients in whom emergency radiological evaluation has to be accelerated.
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Patients presenting with syncope to the emergency department (ED) of a community hospital were evaluated. ⋯ Head CT scans were commonly used in our series of syncope patients. Abnormal findings pertinent to the syncope were observed in only 1 patient. A prospective study examining yield in a larger series of patients may help define the utility of this neuroimaging modality in syncope.
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Emergency radiology · Dec 2005
Coronal oblique turbo STIR imaging of the sacrum and sacroiliac joints at routine MR imaging of the lumbar spine.
The objective of the study was to evaluate the clinical impact of coronal oblique imaging of the lumbrosacral junction and the sacrum at initial presentation for MR imaging of the lumbar spine in patients presenting with low back pain or sciatic pain. Two hundred and sixty consecutive patients attending for MRI of the lumbar spine underwent simultaneous coronal oblique turbo short tau inversion recovery (STIR; TR 2500, TE 40, TI 150, echo train length 7, number of scan acquisitions 2) imaging of the sacrum and the sacroiliac joints with a field of view of 30-cm and 3-mm slices (acquisition time 3 min and 20 s). Images were reviewed by two experienced radiologists to determine the cause of back pain, with and without images of the sacrum and sacroiliac joints. ⋯ These diagnoses were sacroiliitis (n=2), sacral stress fracture (n=1), degenerative sacroiliac joints (n=1), degenerative accessory articulation between the lumbar spine and the sacrum (n=1), Tarlov cyst of nerve root (n=1) and retroverted uterus causing sciatic pain (n=1). Patient stratification according to sex or the presence or absence of sciatic symptoms was not useful in predicting the added benefit of the additional sequence. Routine coronal STIR imaging of the sacrum as part of lumbar spine MRI improves assessment of patients presenting with low back pain or sciatica in only a small number of patients.