Radiology
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Multicenter Study
Radiation Doses in Consecutive CT Examinations from Five University of California Medical Centers.
To summarize data on computed tomographic (CT) radiation doses collected from consecutive CT examinations performed at 12 facilities that can contribute to the creation of reference levels. ⋯ These summary dose data provide a starting point for institutional evaluation of CT radiation doses.
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History A 56-year-old woman presented to the emergency department after a cross-country flight. While in flight, she experienced sudden onset of epigastric and midsternal chest pain with shortness of breath. Her symptoms improved markedly after she received oxygen on board, and she finished the flight without further incident. ⋯ Fluid cultures were preliminarily positive for enterococcus and gram-negative rods. After drain placement, she was scheduled for definitive treatment of recurrent symptomatic effusion. The preoperative work-up included a water-soluble contrast material-enhanced (iodixanol, 320 mg of iodine per milliliter) esophagram with computed tomography (CT) of the chest performed immediately thereafter.
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To assess diagnostic accuracy with diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI) in patients with breast lesions and to evaluate the potential association between DKI-derived parameters and breast cancer clinical-pathologic factors. ⋯ DKI showed higher specificity than did conventional diffusion-weighted imaging for assessment of benign and malignant breast lesions. Patients with grade 3 breast cancer or tumors with high expression of Ki-67 were associated with higher kurtosis and lower diffusivity coefficients; however, this association must be confirmed in prospective studies.