Multidetector computed tomography findings of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia: a case report.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) is a heart muscle disorder characterized pathologically by fatty or fibrofatty replacement and electrical instability of the right ventricular myocardium. This cardiac entity leads to sudden cardiac death, syncope, recurrent ventricular tachycardia, and in some cases, heart failure in a younger population. Contrast angiography, echocardiography, radionuclide angiography, ultrafast computed tomography (CT), and cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging are techniques used to diagnose functional and morphologic characteristics of the disease. CT is sensitive in detecting intramyocardial fat because of its low attenuation. Recently the advances in multislice CT (MDCT) have improved temporal resolution, which has increased effectiveness in providing morphologic and functional information. We present a case with ARVD evaluated through 16-row MDCT. Fatty infiltration was clearly demonstrated by 16-slice CT; thus, multislice CT may have a significant role in the assessment and follow-up of patients with ARVD.

Determination of the recipient vessels in the head and neck using multislice spiral computed tomography angiography before free flap surgery: a preliminary study.

Preoperative assessment of the recipient vessels in free flap surgery directly affects the success rate of the operation by determining the flap type, pedicle length, orientation to the recipient site, and need for a vein graft. For this purpose, conventional angiographic methods are still being used with some disadvantages. The aims of this study were to evaluate the potential success of multislice computed tomography angiography in assessment of the recipient vessels before free flap surgery and to reveal if this may be an alternative to conventional angiography. The study was bilaterally carried out in 33 outpatients using a 16-detector spiral computed tomography scanner. In images of multiplanar reconstructions, maximum intensity projections, and three-dimensional volume renderings, the external carotid artery and its main branches were evaluated in terms of availability; patency, stenosis, or occlusion; maximal and minimal external diameters through their traces; variations involving ramification from another main vessel; and abnormal course. The superior thyroid artery was absent bilaterally in two patients (6.06%). The external carotid artery was stenotic on one side in two patients (6.06%) and on each side in one (3.03%). All the remaining vessels appeared without stenosis, occlusion, or variation. We think that multislice computed tomography angiography can provide detailed information about vascular structures and the remaining anatomic structures and their relationships with the recipient vessels. Therefore, multislice computed tomography angiography, as a less invasive vascular imaging method, can be a useful tool before planning free flap surgery.

Multidetector computed tomography findings of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia: a case report.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) is a heart muscle disorder characterized pathologically by fatty or fibrofatty replacement and electrical instability of the right ventricular myocardium. This cardiac entity leads to sudden cardiac death, syncope, recurrent ventricular tachycardia, and in some cases, heart failure in a younger population. Contrast angiography, echocardiography, radionuclide angiography, ultrafast computed tomography (CT), and cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging are techniques used to diagnose functional and morphologic characteristics of the disease. CT is sensitive in detecting intramyocardial fat because of its low attenuation. Recently the advances in multislice CT (MDCT) have improved temporal resolution, which has increased effectiveness in providing morphologic and functional information. We present a case with ARVD evaluated through 16-row MDCT. Fatty infiltration was clearly demonstrated by 16-slice CT; thus, multislice CT may have a significant role in the assessment and follow-up of patients with ARVD.

Diagnostic performance of multidetector computed tomography for detecting aorto-ostial lesions compared with catheter coronary angiography: multidetector computed tomography coronary angiography is superior to catheter angiography in detection of aorto-ostial lesions.

PURPOSE: In this study, our goal is to determine the use of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in detection of aorto-ostial lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-three patients suspected to have aorto-ostial lesion by either catheter angiography (CA) or MDCT coronary angiography comprised our study population. In 19 patients (group 1), aorto-ostial lesion was suspected based on CA, then MDCT coronary angiography was performed. In the remaining 14 patients (group 2), aorto-ostial lesion diagnosis was made by MDCT coronary angiography, and then afterward, CA was performed. A cardiologist and a radiologist reevaluated both the CA and MDCT coronary angiography recordings of all patients and their consensus formed the diagnosis. We accepted this consensus diagnosis as our criterion standard because a universal criterion standard to compare CA and MDCT findings with is not available. Then, the previous diagnoses by CA and MDCT coronary angiography were compared with the consensus diagnoses. RESULTS: Finally, 26 patients were diagnosed with aorto-ostial lesion, whereas 5 patients were found not to have aorto-ostial lesions. Two patients were diagnosed with abnormal origination of a coronary artery. When the results were evaluated in terms of the presence of aorto-ostial lesion, MDCT coronary angiography correctly diagnosed all 26 patients, and in the 5 patients with normal ostium, MDCT coronary angiography finding was also normal. However, 7 of 26 patients with aorto-ostial lesion were reported to be normal by CA, and also 5 patients with normal ostia were reported to have aorto-ostial lesion by CA. That is, 12 of 33 patients were misdiagnosed by CA. Moreover, CA missed the abnormal origination of the coronary arteries in 2 patients. When the results were evaluated in terms of the degree of stenosis in 26 patients with aorto-ostial lesion; MDCT coronary angiography predicted the final diagnosis in all 26 patients correctly. However, CA predicted the final degree of stenosis only in 12 patients. Catheter angiography underestimated the degree of the stenosis in 2 patients, overestimated in 5 patients and missed the lesion in 7 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that MDCT is a reliable tool for diagnosing the presence and severity of aorto-ostial lesions. In addition, MDCT might be useful in preventing the false diagnosis due to the catheter-induced spasms in patients who were diagnosed with aorto-ostial lesion by CA. Moreover, if MDCT coronary angiography detects a lesion in aorto-ostial region, there is no need to perform CA to merely verify this pathology.

Nodular endometriosis: dynamic MR imaging.

PURPOSE: In this study we aimed to investigate the value of contrast enhanced dynamic MR imaging (DMI) in the diagnosis of nodular abdominal endometriosis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fourteen patients with surgically and pathologically proven endometriosis were examined with DMI. The patients were 22-54 years old (mean age 30.8 years). The dynamic MR studies of these patients were retrospectively reviewed by two radiologists who were aware of the clinical data. Nodular masses showing enhancement were evaluated for size, margins, and signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted MR sequences. The protocol was tailored to selectively determine the diagnostic utility of signal intensity time course analysis for the behavior of nodular endometriosis and endometrial tissue, in DMI. Contrast-enhanced DMI was performed and the time-intensity curves of the lesions and the uterine endometrial tissue of each patient were compared. Mean enhancement values were calculated. Each DMI was evaluated for signal intensity value. RESULTS: In 8 (57%) of 14 patients, we found endometriosis in the abdominal wall. All patients with abdominal wall endometriosis had pelvic surgical operation history. Diameter of nodular endometriosis determined in the abdominus muscle ranged between 3 and 40 mm. Of eight cases, five had only one lesion and three had multiple lesions. Remaining 6 (43%) cases had deep pelvic endometriosis located in the uterosacral ligaments (n = 3), rectosigmoid (n = 2), and rectovaginal septum (n = 1). Diameter of pelvic endometriosis ranged between 9 and 53 mm. Noncontrast mean signal intensity of endometriosis and endometrial tissue were 280 +/- 73 and 216 +/- 20, respectively. The mean values of both endometriosis and normal endometrial tissue were calculated for each patient examined with five-slice DMI. All of the curves showed significant correlation. The lesion showed significant enhancement in the course of time similar to the endometrial tissue in all patients. CONCLUSION: Our study was inspired from the fact that endometriosis is the ectopic endometrial tissue and we thought that endometrial tissue and endometriomas should have similar vascularity. In this way imaging with MR, getting the time-intensity curves and experiencing the correlation between the endometriosis and endometrial tissue may support the diagnosis in the cases with suspected endometriosis. This first study shows that the ectopic nodular endometriosis can easily be identified with dynamic MRI. It may be used to differentiate nodular endometriosis from the other pathologic conditions of abdominal wall and pelvis.

Omphalopagus conjoined twins: ultrafast MR imaging findings.

Conjoined twins are a rare and often catastrophic obstetrical event. Although ultrasonography is widely used in the diagnosis of conjoined twins, it may fail to demonstrate the details in fetuses with complex anomalies, especially during late pregnancy. We present an omphalopagus conjoined twins case evaluated by HASTE magnetic resonance imaging, which showed the conjunction site and cranial anomalies, and aided antenatal counseling and neonatal surgical planning.

Stereological evaluation of treatment response in patients with non-resectable hepatic alveolar echinococcosis using computed tomography via the Cavalieri method.

INTRODUCTION: The purposes of this study were to describe and adapt the relevant methods of computed tomography (CT) and stereology to estimate parasitic volume in the liver, to compare the efficiency of benzimidazole treatment in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (AE), and to determine whether the response rates measured by the stereological method are correlated with those measured by simple volumetric measurements (SVM). METHODS: Nine eligible patients with non-resectable AE were included in the study. By using their abdominal CT at the baseline and after a year of treatment, treatment responses of the cases were evaluated both by the stereological method via a software and by SVM, retrospectively. The volume estimation was performed in our study using a different approach that consisted of three separate stages combined with the Cavalieri method of modern design stereology. RESULTS: The response rates were -17 +/- 55% and -12 +/- 37% by the Cavalieri method and SVM, respectively; however, they were not statistically significant (P = 0.59 and 0.21 for the Cavalieri method and SVM, respectively). Although some cases had comparable results, others had different response rates, and the two methods showed no significant correlation (r = -0.31, P = 0.41). CONCLUSIONS: Because this modified method provides accurate results by reducing margin of errors, even in case of bizarre shape of AE, a correct, unbiased, and reliable management of the cases with AE via this method may be possible. Owing to lack of a correlation with SVM, it is suggested that a measurement via SVM may be wrong and its use in the evaluation of the treatment response in such cases will not be sufficient and completely true.

Detection of myocardial bridging with ECG-gated MDCT and multiplanar reconstruction.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of myocardial bridging in 626 patients examined with MDCT angiography of the coronary arteries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six hundred twenty-six patients who were referred to Florence Nightingale and Atatürk University Hospitals were involved in this study. These patients had atypical chest pain, symptoms suggestive of coronary artery disease, or no significant cardiac complaint. Patients were in sinus rhythm and were premedicated with metoprolol tartrate (5 mg/mL IV bolus) to decrease the heart rate and nitroglycerin (5 mg sublingual 1 min before the examination) to dilate the coronary arteries. MDCT was performed on two different 16-MDCT scanners. RESULTS: Among the 626 patients, 22 cases (3.5%) of myocardial bridging were detected. Fifteen cases of myocardial bridging (2.4%) were located at the middle third of the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD), five (0.8%) were at the distal third of the LAD, and two (0.3%) were at the proximal third of the LAD. In these patients, the length of tunneled artery was between 6 and 22 mm, with a mean of 17 mm, and the depth of tunneled artery was between 1.2 and 3.3 mm, with a mean of 2.5 mm. CONCLUSION: We found the incidence of myocardial bridging in this patient group to be 3.5%. This result is in agreement with some of the angiographic studies in the literature. Our study showed that MDCT is a reliable and noninvasive tool for diagnosing coronary myocardial bridging. After evaluating resource axial images, it is necessary to also evaluate the sagittal multiplanar reconstruction images for myocardial bridging.

Effect of the reconstruction window obtained at the isovolumic relaxation period on the image quality in electrocardiographic-gated 16-multidetector-row computed tomography coronary angiography studies.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether images obtained during the reconstruction window responding to the isovolumic relaxation period could be used for rapid and easy postprocessing. METHODS: One hundred ten consecutive patients with suspected coronary artery disease who had previously had a multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scan for imaging coronary arteries were enrolled in this study. The age of the patients was 59 +/- 13 years (range: 33-78 years), and 77 (70%) were male. Multidetector computed tomography was performed on a 16-detector-row computed tomography scanner during 1 breath hold (16-24 seconds). Seven different sets of images reconstructed at every 10% of the R-R interval from 30% to 90% for contrast-enhanced scans at levels containing the first several centimeters of the left and right coronary arteries were analyzed. The best of these reconstruction windows were then compared with the images reconstructed at the isovolumic relaxation period, which is the last portion of the T wave at the end of the systole, where there is not any change in ventricular volume, which causes stepladder artifacts. The step artifact was classified as excellent, good, or poor. Image quality was assessed by 2 radiologists who were not aware of each other's interpretation. RESULTS: According to the routinely used reconstructions, there were 76 patients with excellent image quality, 28 with good image quality, and 6 with poor image quality. For the period of isovolumic relaxation, there were 74 patients with excellent image quality, 25 with good image quality, and 11 with poor image quality. CONCLUSION: If one begins image analysis with the isovolumic relaxation period reconstruction window, spending less time for postprocessing analyses, good image quality can be obtained such as with other good reconstruction windows.

Projected color slides as a method for mass screening test for color vision deficiency (a preliminary study).

This article compared the efficiency of the mass screening test with projected color slides in detecting color-blindness with the authentic classic method of Ishihara. The study was conducted in a randomly selected lecture room with 104 students aged between 19-25 years (median 21). Using Ishihara projected slides, performed mass screening test. Re-testing was done individually with printed Ishihara plates. Six male and one female with color-blindness were detected. The frequency of color-blindness was 13.6% among males, with a total incidence of 6.7%. The results of two testing methods were compared statistically. Sensitivities and specificities of both tests were 100%. Using projected slides of Ishihara plates instead of the authentic method is an effective and timesaving method for detecting color-blindness. This method can be suggested as a mass-screening test and might be beneficial in detecting color-blindness in large populations such as students, soldiers, and so on.

Importance of anatomical asymmetries of transverse sinuses: an MR venographic study.

Time-of-flight (TOF) magnetic resonance venography (MRV) is often used to examine the intracranial dural sinuses, particularly in the evaluation of dural sinus thrombosis. The goal of the study was to evaluate the use of TOF MRV in assessing the normal anatomy of dural sinuses and their variations as sources of potential pitfalls in the diagnosis of venous sinus thrombosis. Cerebral TOF MRV obtained in 105 persons with normal MR studies were reviewed to determine the presence, aplasia and hypoplasia of the transverse sinuses. Twenty-one (20%) aplasias of the left sinus, 41 (39%) hypoplasia of the left sinus, 33 (31%) symmetric, 6 (6%) hypoplasia of the right sinus, and 4 (4%) aplasias of the right sinus cases were determined in the asymmetry in sizes of transverse sinuses. These results suggested that transverse sinus flow gaps or aplasias can be observed in approximately 24% of normal population on MR imaging. The rate of these gaps in normal subjects must be kept in mind because it can be a source of misdiagnosis in cases of suspected dural sinus thrombosis.