Journal of clinical ultrasound : JCU
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Case Reports
Anomalous left coronary artery arising from the pulmonary artery discovered beyond infancy.
Anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) is a congenital heart defect rarely diagnosed beyond infancy. We present a 9-year-old girl who had once been diagnosed as congenital coronary artery fistula. Echogenic mitral chordae tendineae, multiple coronary collaterals within the ventricular septum and free ventricular wall, and a shunting flow from the left coronary artery into the pulmonary artery were prominent echocardiographic features of ALCAPA. Reimplantation of the left coronary artery directly onto the aorta achieved a favorable outcome with regression of left ventricular size and alleviation of mitral regurgitation.
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Rotator cuff (RC) tendinopathy has been widely ascribed to impingement of the supraspinatus tendon (SsT) in the subacromial space, measured as the acromiohumeral distance (AHD). Ultrasound (US) is suitable for measuring AHD and SsT thickness, but few reliability studies have been carried out in symptomatic populations, and interrater reliability is unconfirmed. This study aimed to examine the intrarater and interrater reliability of US measurements of AHD and SsT thickness in asymptomatic control subjects and patients with RC tendinopathy. ⋯ The results support the reliability of US for the measurement of AHD and SsT thickness in patients with symptomatic RC tendinopathy and provide minimal detectable change values for use in future research studies.
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Although focused cardiac ultrasonographic (FoCUS) examination has been evaluated in emergency departments and intensive care units with good correlation to formal echocardiography, accuracy for the assessment of left ventricular systolic function (LVSF) when performed by internal medicine physicians still needs independent evaluation. ⋯ Internal medicine physicians using FoCUS identify normal versus decreased LVSF with high sensitivity, specificity, and "good/substantial" interrater agreement when compared with formal echocardiography. These results support the role of cardiac FoCUS by properly trained internal medicine physicians for discriminating normal from reduced LVSF.
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The clinical and radiologic diagnosis of adnexal torsion is challenging. The patient's history, physical examination, and laboratory evaluation may overlap significantly with other causes of abdominal pain. Ultrasound is the most common radiologic tool to assess for torsion, and the imaging findings can be equally equivocal. We present a case of adnexal torsion in an 18-year-old emergency room patient with abdominal pain, diagnosed by ultrasound based solely on an abnormal medial position of the ovary-a finding that has been only rarely mentioned in the literature, and never in isolation.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Randomized study of teaching ultrasound-guided vascular cannulation using a phantom and the freehand versus needle guide-assisted puncture techniques.
The task of ultrasound-guided vessel cannulation can be technically difficult. Needle guides have been designed to facilitate vessel puncture. We aimed to identify and compare the learning curves of participants performing vessel puncture with conventional freehand (FH) and needle guide-assisted (NG) techniques. ⋯ The NG puncture allows a greater number of trainees to cross the learning threshold and offers the advantages of fewer posterior-wall punctures and skin punctures. The use of NG puncture may result in a shorter path to proficiency, allowing trainees to attempt needle puncture earlier and with a greater degree of safety.