Kaohsiung J Med Sci
-
Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Aug 2015
Assessment of intra-interobserver reliability of the sonographic optic nerve sheath diameter measurement.
Diagnosis and measuring the level of increase in intracranial pressure (ICP) is critical, especially for the management of trauma patients in the emergency department and intensive care unit. However, measurements are operator-dependent as in all of the sonographic diagnoses. The aim of this study is to assess the operator variations in the measurement of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD). ⋯ The levels of compatibilities for most of the measurements were found at acceptable levels statistically. However, it is not possible to say that there was a perfect compatibility among the sonographers according to the previously conducted reliability studies of ultrasound measurements. According to our results, it is hard to say that sonographic measurement of the ONSD is a highly reliable method both in longitudinal and transverse planes.
-
Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Aug 2015
Radiofrequency ablation assisted by real-time virtual sonography for hepatocellular carcinoma inconspicuous under sonography and high-risk locations.
Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an effective and real-time targeting modality for small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). However, mistargeting may occur when the target tumor is confused with cirrhotic nodules or because of the poor conspicuity of the index tumor under ultrasonography (US). Real-time virtual sonography (RVS) can provide the same reconstruction computed tomography images as US images. ⋯ The results showed that the complete ablation rate is 87.5% (7/8) in the US undetectable group and 75% (15/20) in the US detectable group. A comparison between six tumors with incomplete ablation and 22 tumors with complete ablation showed higher alpha-fetoprotein level (mean, 1912 ng/mL vs. 112 ng/mL) and larger tumor size (mean diameter, 26 mm vs. 16 mm) in the incomplete ablation nodules (both p < 0.05). In conclusion, RVS-assisted RFA is useful for tumors that are difficult to detect under conventional US and may also be useful for tumors in high-risk locations because it may prevent complication induced by mistargeting.