ABSTRACT
[Objective]To investigate the value of"pericardium crescent sign"in the diagnosis of non-calcified con-strictive pericarditis in CT.[Methods]Twenty-seven patients with non-calcified constrictive pericarditis and forty-six cardiac tumors confirmed by surgical pathology were analyzed retrospectively. All patients underwent non-enhanced and enhanced CT scan preoperatively.Pericardial morphology,density,enhancement features,appearance of atrium,ventri-cle and inferior vena cava of non-calcified constrictive pericarditis were analyzed. Pericardial morphology of cardiac tumors was also analyzed.[Results]Of the 27 patients with non-calcified constrictive pericarditis,18 patients developed"pericardium crescent sign",accounting for 66.7%,ventricular varying degrees of deformation in 13 cases,accounting for 48%;venous dilatation in 26 cases,accounting for 93%;atrial enlargement in 7 cases,accounting for 26%. In 46 patients with cardiac tumors,only 1 patient had a similar"pericardial crescent"sign.For the diagnosis of constrictive pericarditis using pericardial crescent sign,the sensitivity was 66.7%,the specificity was 97.8%,Youden index was 0.64. The area under the ROC curve was 0.82([0.71-0.94],P<0.001).[Conclusion]"Pericardium crescent sign"is important CT features of non-calcified constrictive pericarditis. It has high specificity for differentiating non-calcified constrictive pericarditis from pericardial tumor imaging.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To assess the value of multi-slice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) in the diagnosis of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A retrospective analysis was conducted in 12 patients with the diagnosis of TAPVC established by MSCT. Multi-planar reconstruction (MPR), curved-planar reconstruction (CPR), volume rendering (VR), maximum intensity projection (MIP) and minimum intensity projection were performed in all the cases, and the results were analyzed in comparison with those of ultrasound echocardiography (12 cases) and surgical findings (10 cases). Cardiovascular angiography was performed in 2 cases.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>In the 10 patients receiving surgical interventions, 7 presented with supracardiac TAPVC, 2 with cardiac TAPVC, and 1 with infracardiac TAPVC. MSCT allowed qualitative diagnosis and identified the location of the lesions in all the 10 surgical patients, whereas echocardiography established the diagnosis in only 5 patients. In the 2 cases undergoing cardiovascular angiography, the diagnosis was established in only 1 case without clear display of the draining vein.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>MSCT combined with 3-dimensional reconstruction provides a noninvasive and accurate means for the diagnosis of TAPVC.</p>