[Assessment of compatibility between the results of standard abdominal CT and liver window CT in the diagnosis of liver space occupying lesion]

CT scan has a primary role in the imaging of the liver. CT images can be viewed with different regulations or the so called windows. The aim of this study was to determine the extent of consistency of the results of the liver window settings with those of standard abdominal CT in the diagnosis of space-occupying lesions in the liver. This was a cross-sectional study and included 162 patients who had been followed up for cancer, or had abdominal trauma or any abdominal symptoms. Standard abdominal CT scan with contrast injection was performed. Then the results of the scans were reviewed by two experienced radiologists for the presence or absence of liver lesions. Using SPSS 20 software, data analysis was performed by statistical tests. Because of the lack of agreement between our radiologists on the detection of lesions in 10 patients, the analysis was performed on 152 patients. According to the liver standard window settings 27.6% and 32.2% of the patients had liver lesions, respectively. Use of liver window settings resulted in the detection of increased number of lesions in 10.5% of the patients. Also, there was a significant difference between the number of liver space occupying lesions in the liver window settings and standard abdominal CT. The compatibility between the results of the two window settings was 0.78. The results of this study showed that the number of detected lesions in the CT of liver window was more than those in the CT of standard window settings, and this difference was significant. Therefore, liver window settings can be a useful measure to determine the number of liver lesions

[Sonographic measurement of the abdominal esophagus length in children under 2 years of age with gastroesophageal reflux]

Gastroesophageal Reflux [GER] is defined as the return of gastric contents into the esophagus or oropharynx without effort which is a common problem in the children. Ultrasound is a sensitive and accurate method for evaluation of reflux. The aim of this study was to compare the abdominal esophagus length between the children below 2 years of age with gastroesophageal reflux and children of the same age without gastroesophageal reflux. This was a case-control study and included 100 children less than 2 years of age. The children were allocated to two groups, 50 children without GER and sonographic evidence as control group and 50 with GER confirmed by sonographic or barium swallow under fluoroscopy as our case group. The length of the abdominal esophagus was measured according to the protocol. Using SPSS 21 software, data were analyzed by statistical tests. The average length of the abdominal esophagus in the patients with GER and those without GER were 19.46 +/- 4.54 and 26.23 +/- 5.01 respectively. There was a significant difference between the two groups in regard to the length of abdominal esophagus. According to the results of this study, it seems that the length of the abdominal esophagus is shorter in the children under 2 years of age with gastroesophageal reflux compared to those without gastroesophageal reflux. Therefore, measurement of abdominal esophagus length by ultrasound can be a useful parameter in children with gastroesophageal reflux