Radiologic clinics of North America
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Radiol. Clin. North Am. · Jan 2011
ReviewEmergent neuroimaging of intracranial infection/inflammation.
Infectious and inflammatory processes of the intracranial compartment often result in acute clinical presentations. The possible causes are legion. Clues to the diagnosis involve clinical presentation, laboratory analysis, and neuroimaging. This article reviews some of the salient factors in understanding intracranial infection/ inflammation, including pathophysiology and neuroimaging protocols/findings, and provides some examples and a few "pearls and pitfalls."
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Radiol. Clin. North Am. · Jan 2011
ReviewPosterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome and venous thrombosis.
Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) and venous thrombosis are frequently encountered first in the emergency setting and share some common characteristics. The clinical presentation in both entities is vague, and the brain parenchymal findings of PRES syndrome may resemble those of venous thrombosis in some ways. Both entities often occur in a bilateral posterior distribution and may be associated with reversible parenchymal findings if the inciting factor is treated. These diagnoses should be at the forefront of the differential diagnosis when confronted with otherwise unexplained brain edema, among other findings described in this article.
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This article discusses the imaging of infectious and other inflammatory conditions that affect the spinal cord, spinal column, intradural spinal nerve roots, and spinal meninges with emphasis on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Inflammatory lesions of the spine are often indistinguishable on imaging and even on pathologic examination. ⋯ The most common inflammatory and infectious conditions affecting the anatomic compartments of the spine are described, following an external to internal anatomic approach. Subsequently, several infectious pathogenic agents are discussed individually as they affect the spinal column and its contents.
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When patients present to the emergency room with sudden onset of focal neurologic symptoms or altered consciousness, hemorrhagic stroke is a major focus of emergency diagnostic evaluation. The entities that compose hemorrhagic stroke, intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhage, are readily diagnosed with advanced imaging. ⋯ Common and unusual causes and their distinguishing imaging features are discussed. Imaging strategies and recent work in specific imaging findings that may guide patient management in the future are also addressed.