CT-guided percutaneous drainage of abdominopelvic collections: a pictorial essay.

CT-guided percutaneous drainage is a safe and effective procedure that allows minimally invasive treatment of abdominopelvic abscesses and fluid collections. This technique has become an alternative for surgery with lower morbility and mortality rates. In this pictorial essay, we aim at providing an overview of the technical approaches, the main clinical indications and complications of CT-guided percutaneous drainage, in order to provide a practical guide for interventional radiologists, with a review of the recent literature. The focus will be the CT-guidance, preferred when the interposition of viscera, vascular and skeletal structures, counteracts the ultrasound guidance.

Pneumothorax and pulmonary hemorrhage after CT-guided lung biopsy: incidence, clinical significance and correlation.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the incidence and clinical significance of pneumothorax (PTX) and pulmonary hemorrhage (PH) after CT-guided lung biopsy (CT-LB). To test correlations of PTX and chest tube insertion (CTI) with PH and other imaging and procedural parameters. METHODS: Pre-procedural CT and CT-LB scans of 904 patients were examined. Incidence of PTX and PH and PH location (type-1 along needle track; type-2 perilesional) and severity according to its thickness (low grade < 6 mm; high grade > 6 mm) were recorded. PTX was considered clinically significant if treated with CTI, PH if treated with endoscopic/endovascular procedure. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to determine the effects of different imaging and procedural parameters on the likelihood to develop PTX, CTI and PH and to define their correlation. RESULTS: PTX occurred in 306/904 cases (33.8%); CTI was required in 18/306 (5.9%). PH occurred in 296/904 cases (32.7%), and no case required treatment. Nodule-to-pleura distance (ORPTX = 1.052; ORCTI = 1.046; ORPH 1.077), emphysema (ORPTX = 1.287; ORPH = 0.573), procedure time (ORPTX = 1.019; ORCTI = 1.039; ORPH = 1.019), target size (ORPTX = 0.982; ORPH = 0.968) and needle gauge (ORPTX = 0.487; ORCTI = 4.311; ORPH = 2.070) showed statistically significant correlation to PTX, CTI and PH. Type-1 PH showed a protective effect against PTX and CTI (ORPTX = 0.503; ORCTI = 0.416). CONCLUSION: PTX and PH have similar incidence after CT-guided lung biopsy. PH along needle track may represent a protective factor against development of PTX and against PTX requiring CTI.

Magnetic resonance imaging of adrenal gland: state of the art.

Detection of adrenal lesions, because of the widespread use of imaging and especially high-resolution imaging procedures, is increased. Because of the importance to characterize those findings, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in particular chemical shift imaging (CSI), is useful to distinguish whether a lesion is benignant or malignant and to avoid further diagnostic or surgical procedures. It represents the first choice of imaging in patient like children or pregnant women, and a valid complement to other imaging techniques like CT or PET/CT. In this review we analyze the role and characteristic of MRI and the imaging features of most common benignant (adenoma, hyperplasia, pheochromocytoma, hemorrhage, cyst, myelolipoma, teratoma, ganglioneuroma, cystic lymphangioma, hemangioma) and malignant [neuroblastoma, adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), metastases, lymphoma] adrenal lesions.

Percutaneous needle biopsy of retroperitoneal lesions: technical developments.

Percutaneous Needle Biopsy (PNB) is the insertion of a needle into a suspected lesion or an organ with the aim to obtain cells or tissue for diagnosis. It's a relatively non-invasive procedure and is performed by radiologist under guidance of imaging techniques such as ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography CT (PET-CT). The choice of imaging technique depends on the evaluation of the target lesion and patient compliance. PNB includes two categories: fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) that is the use of a thin needle (18-25 gauge) to extract cells for cytological evaluation; and core needle biopsy (CNB) that is the use of a larger needle (9-20 gauge) to extract a piece of tissue for histological evaluation. The indications for biopsy are the characterization of nature (benign or malignant) of a lesion, diagnosis and staging of tumor, and biological or immunohistochemical/genetic analisys on tissue. Success of PNB is the procurement of sufficient material to characterize lesions and to guide the patient outcome.  Major complications are rare. PNB became a useful technique in diagnosis and study of retroperitoneal lesions, because of a more suitable access to specific intra-abdominal structures, lowering the risk of injury of interposed structures (such as bowel, great vessels).

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous irrigation of calcific tendinopathy: technical developments.

Rotator cuff calcific tendinopathy (RCCT) is a common and painful shoulder disease characterised  by deposition of calcium into the rotator cuff's tendond. Different therapeutic options have been proposed, but the ultrasound-guided percutaneous irrigation (US-PICT) is been proved as an effective and safe first-line treatment. It can be performed with a single- of a double-needle tecnique, using warm saline solution to improve the dissolution of the calcific deposit. The procedure is ended with an intrabursal injection of local anaesthetics and slow-release steroids to improve the pain relief and to prevent complications. US-PICT leads to significative improvement in the shoulder funtion and pain relief in the short and long term, with a low complications rate.