Usefulness of Unenhanced Helical CT in Patients with Suspected Ureteral Colic

PURPOSE: To determine the usefulness of unenhanced helical CT in patients with suspected renal colic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and fourteen patients with suspected ureteral colic, referred by physicians, underwent unenhanced helical CT. Two radiologists prospectively interpreted the results, determining the presence or absence of ureter stone and other diseases that arise outside the urinary tract. In cases of ureteral stone, we retrospectively sought secondary signs of hydronephrosis, perinephric fat stranding, thickening of renal fascia, renal enlargement, and the tissue rim sign. RESULTS: Among the 114 patients, 57 were confirmed as having ureter stones. Unenhanced helical CT depicted 57 of 58 stones in 57 patients, producing one false-negative and one false-positive result. Overall, the results showed 98% sensitivity, 95% specificity, 98% positive predictive value, 95% negative predictive value, and 97% accuracy. The frequencies of secondary signs were as follows: hydronephrosis, 95% (54/57); perinephric fat stranding, 81% (46/57); thickening of renal fascia, 77% (44/57); renal enlargement, 65% (37/57); and the tissue rim sign 72% (21/29). In 20 patients, the diagnoses were not related to stone disease and included one falsenegative diagnosis of pyonephrosis. CONCLUSION: Unenhanced helical CT provides information which is valuable in the accurate diagnosis of ureteral stone as well as other diseases that arise outside the urinary tract in patients with suspected renal colic.

Huge Endometrioma Mimicking Mucinous Cystadenoma on MR: A Case Report

Endometriosis is a relatively common gynecologic disease affecting women during their reproductive years. For its diagnosis, magnetic resonance imaging has been shown to have greater specificity than other modalities. Although lesions may show variable signal intensity due to numerous stages of bleeding, the characteristic finding of endometrioma which distinguishes it from other ovarian cystic masses is relatively high signal intensity on T1-weighted images and heterogeneous signal intensity with prominent shading on T2-weighted images. We report an atypical case involving a huge endometrioma. Because of varying signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images and scanty shading on T2-weighted images, the findings were misinterpreted and mucinous cystadenoma was diagnosed.

Idiopathic Portal Hypertension

PURPOSE: To discribe the radiologic findings of idiopathic portal hypertension and to find the points of differentiation between idiopathic portal hypertension and liver cirrhosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four portogramsin five patients who for four years had suffered from pathologically confirmed idiopathic portal hypertension were retrospectively analyzed and compared with a portogram obtained from a cntrol subject with liver cirrhosis. RESULTS: Portographic findings of idiopathic portal hypertension were paucity of medium-sized portal branches, irregular and obtuse-angled division of peripheral branches, abrupt interruption and an avascular area beneath the liver margin. CONCLUSION: A portogram of idiopathic portal hypertension may be useful in differentiating this andliver cirrhosis.

Chest Radiographic Findings of Tsutsugamushi Disease and Murine Typhus in Chunchon

PURPOSE: To evaluate the chest radiographic findings of rickettsial disease including murine typhus and tsutsugamushi disease in Chunchon. MATERIALS & METHODS: Chest radiographic films of 81 cases diagnosed as rickettsial disease(55 cases of tsutsugamushi disease, 26 cases of murine typhus) by immunofluorescence test were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Main serotypes of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi were Gilllain and Karp. Incidence rate of tsutsugamushi disease was 2.1 times greater than that of murine typhus. Chest radiographs were abnormal in 63.6% of tsutsugamushi disease, and in 30.8% of murine typhus. Radiographic findings were Kerly's B line, reticu-Ionodular densities, hilar enlargement, pleural effusion, and splenomegaly in both entities, but pulmonary consolidation was only found in tsutsugamushi disease. The patients with the abnormal radiographic findings were statistically well correlated with cardiomegaly(p<0.01) and azygos engorgement(p<0.05), as compared to the patients with normal radiographic findings. CONCLUSION: Radiographic findings of both murine typhus and tsutsugamushi disease were interstitial pattern. But the chest radiographs in patients with tsutsugamushi disease showed more severe pattern with higher rate of abnormality.

3D-TOF MR angiography of the lower extremity: normal and arterial occlusive disease

No abstract available.