Validity of color doppler sonography in evaluation of malignant portal vein thrombosis in hepatocellular carcinoma

The objective of this study was to assess the validity of color doppler sonography in the evaluation of malignant portal vein thrombosis in hepatocellular carcinoma [findings on biphasic spiral computed tomography were used as the gold standard]. This study was conducted in the Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at Shifa International Hospital, Islamabad from March 2009 to November 2009. A total of 100 patients those who were already diagnosed cases of HCC or those having high suspicion of HCC based on clinical criteria [e.g., chronic hepatitis B or C, liver cirrhosis, increased alpha fetoprotein level [>400ng/dl]] and /or Imaging findings [e.g., sonography, MRI, CT] were included in this study. Color doppler sonography had 80.7% sensitivity and 100% specificity in the detection of arterial flow in the portal vein thrombus [i.e., malignant thrombus] in comparison with biphasic CT [taken as gold standard]. Color doppler sonography is an effective, noninvasive method for evaluating the presence of malignant portal vein thrombosis associated with HCC

Lateral medullary syndrome: clinicao-radiological correlation

Lateral Medullary syndrome is not a very common disorder and remains undiagnosed at times. It is commonly caused by occlusion of the cranial segment of the vertebral artery or the posterior inferior cerebellar artery. The usual symptoms of this syndrome include vertigo, dizziness, nystagmus, ataxia, nausea and vomiting, dysphagia, hoarseness, hiccups, impaired sensation over half the face, impairment of pain and thermal sensation over the contralateral hemibody and limbs and the ipsilateral face, and Horner's syndrome. Four cases of lateral medullary syndrome are reported who were diagnosed on clinical basis and later on confirmed by MRI. Our objective is to correlate clinical and radiologic findings in patients with lateral medullary syndrome