Comparison of contrast-enhanced videofluoroscopy to unenhanced dynamic MRI in minor patients following surgical correction of velopharyngeal dysfunction.

OBJECTIVES: To compare dynamic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with videofluoroscopy (VFS) regarding image quality and assessment of gap size between soft palate (SP) and posterior pharyngeal wall (PPW) in children and adolescents following surgical correction of velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD). METHODS: Twenty-one patients undergoing unenhanced 3-T MRI and contrast-enhanced VFS were included in this IRB-approved prospective study. The MRI scan protocol comprised refocused gradient-echo sequences in transverse and sagittal planes during speech, with TE 1.97 ms, TR 3.95 ms, flip angle 8°, matrix size 128 × 128, and 5-mm slice thickness. Radial k-space sampling and sliding window reconstruction were used to achieve an image acquisition rate of 28 frames per second (fps). VFS with 30 fps was similarly performed in both planes. Closure of the velopharyngeal port during phonation was evaluated by two experienced radiologists. RESULTS: Eleven (52.4%) patients displayed a complete closure, whereas ten (47.6%) patients showed a post-operative gap during speech. VFS and MRI equally identified the cases with persistent or recurrent VPD. Differences in SP-PPW distance between VFS (3.9 ± 1.6 mm) and MRI (4.1 ± 1.5 mm) were not statistically significant (p = 0.5). The subjective overall image quality of MRI was rated inferior (p < 0.001) compared with VFS, with almost perfect inter-rater agreement (κ = 0.90). The presence of susceptibility artifacts did not limit anatomical measurements. CONCLUSION: Dynamic MRI is equally reliable as VFS to assess persistent or recurrent inadequate velum closure in patients following surgical treatment of VPD. KEY POINTS: • Unenhanced 3-T dynamic MRI and contrast-enhanced videofluoroscopy are equally useful for the identification of patients with incomplete velopharyngeal closure during speech. • MRI using refocused gradient-echo acquisition with radial k-space sampling and sliding window reconstruction generates diagnostic images with 28 frames per second. • MRI can offer a radiation-free alternative to currently established videofluoroscopy for young patients.

Erratum to: After ISCHEMIA: Is cardiac MRI a reliable gatekeeper for invasive angiography and myocardial revascularization?

In the above mentioned article, the family name of the second author was not given correctly: it is Carerj instead of Careri.The authors apologize for this mistake.The original article has been ….

After ISCHEMIA: Is cardiac MRI a reliable gatekeeper for invasive angiography and myocardial revascularization?

This review surveys the findings of the International Study of Comparative Health Effectiveness with Medical and Invasive Approaches (ISCHEMIA) trial and puts them into a clinical perspective regarding its effect of the role of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) as a well-validated gatekeeper for invasive angiography and myocardial revascularization. Noninvasive stress testing of patients with intermediate-to-high pretest likelihood for obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) using perfusion CMR provides excellent diagnostic accuracy in detecting ischemic myocardium, and additional information from tissue characterization can guide the management of patients with stable angina toward a more individualized therapy as other non-coronary underlying causes of chest pain can be detected. Since ISCHEMIA failed to show that an invasive strategy using percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting was associated with an improved prognosis compared with initial conservative medical therapy among stable patients with moderate-to-severe ischemia, CMR as a multifaceted diagnostic imaging approach to explain patients' symptoms should be preferred over anatomical and stress testing alone. Nevertheless, the exclusion of left main coronary artery stenosis either by coronary CT or MR angiography may be required. In conclusion, the results of the ISCHEMIA trial are in good accordance with those of the MR-INFORM trial recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, as the noninvasive management of a large proportion of patients with CAD was shown to be noninferior to current invasive strategies. Recent outcome data from trials may therefore have an impact on future guidelines to further reduce the execution of unnecessary left heart catheterizations.

Dual-energy CT in patients with abdominal malignant lymphoma: impact of noise-optimised virtual monoenergetic imaging on objective and subjective image quality.

AIM: To investigate the impact of noise-optimised virtual monoenergetic imaging (VMI+) reconstructions on quantitative and qualitative image parameters in patients with malignant lymphoma at dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) examinations of the abdomen. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-five consecutive patients (mean age, 53.8±18.6 years; range, 21-82 years) with histologically proven malignant lymphoma of the abdomen were included retrospectively. Images were post-processed with standard linear blending (M_0.6), traditional VMI, and VMI+ technique at energy levels ranging from 40 to 100 keV in 10 keV increments. Signal-to-noise (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) were objectively measured in lymphoma lesions. Image quality, lesion delineation, and image noise were rated subjectively by three blinded observers using five-point Likert scales. RESULTS: Quantitative image quality parameters peaked at 40-keV VMI+ (SNR, 15.77±7.74; CNR, 18.27±8.04) with significant differences compared to standard linearly blended M_0.6 (SNR, 7.96±3.26; CNR, 13.55±3.47) and all traditional VMI series (p<0.001). Qualitative image quality assessment revealed significantly superior ratings for image quality at 60-keV VMI+ (median, 5) in comparison with all other image series (p<0.001). Assessment of lesion delineation showed the highest rating scores for 40-keV VMI+ series (median, 5), while lowest subjective image noise was found for 100-keV VMI+ reconstructions (median, 5). CONCLUSION: Low-keV VMI+ reconstructions led to improved image quality and lesion delineation of malignant lymphoma lesions compared to standard image reconstruction and traditional VMI at abdominal DECT examinations.