Radiology
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Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Minor head injury: CT-based strategies for management--a cost-effectiveness analysis.
To compare the cost-effectiveness of using selective computed tomographic (CT) strategies with that of performing CT in all patients with minor head injury (MHI). ⋯ Selecting patients with MHI for CT renders cost savings and may be cost-effective, provided the sensitivity for the identification of patients who require neurosurgery is extremely high. Uncertainty regarding long-term functional outcomes after MHI justifies the routine use of CT in all patients with these injuries.
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Comparative Study
Carotid intraplaque hemorrhage imaging at 3.0-T MR imaging: comparison of the diagnostic performance of three T1-weighted sequences.
To compare the diagnostic performances of three T1-weighted 3.0-T magnetic resonance (MR) sequences at carotid intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) imaging, with histo logic analysis as the reference standard. ⋯ The magnetization-prepared RAGE sequence, as compared with the fast spin-echo and TOF sequences, demonstrated higher diagnostic capability for the detection and quantification of IPH. Potential limitations of 3.0-T IPH MR imaging are related to hemorrhage size and coexisting calcification.
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To elucidate the factors associated with the preservation of function in relapsing-remitting (RR) multiple sclerosis (MS) by investigating effective connectivity changes of the sensorimotor network in pediatric RR MS patients in comparison with adult patients with either clinically isolated syndromes (CIS) suggestive of MS or RR MS and in adult healthy control subjects by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MR) imaging and a dynamic causal model approach and to assess the correlation between effective connectivity changes and structural damage to the corpus callosum and the corticospinal tracts (CSTs). ⋯ The preservation of brain adaptive properties might explain the favorable medium-term clinical outcome of pediatric MS patients. The progressive recruitment of cortical networks over time in patients with the adult RR forms of the disease might result in a loss of their plastic reservoir, thus possibly contributing to subsequent disease evolution.
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To test the reliability of potentially new computed tomographic (CT) indicators of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and to establish whether a combination of CT and echocardiographic measurements was more predictive of PH than either test alone. ⋯ A combination of CT and echocardiographic markers of PH is more closely related to mPAP than either test in isolation.
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To evaluate the relationship between nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and coronary artery disease (CAD) and to define determinants of CAD in patients with or without metabolic syndrome. ⋯ Patients with NAFLD, even without metabolic syndrome, are at high risk for atherosclerosis. Assessment of NAFLD may be helpful for cardiovascular risk stratification.