Hip joint range of motion reduction in sports-related chronic groin injury diagnosed as pubic bone stress injury.

Traumatic osteitis pubis is a non-specific entity that relates to chronic groin injury and has recently been described as being akin to a pubic bone stress injury. It is uncertain whether or not reduction of hip joint range of motion occurs in traumatic osteitis pubis. The purpose of this study was to establish whether there is a reduction of hip range of motion in athletes who have chronic groin injury diagnosed as pubic bone stress injury. A case-control study was performed whereby 89 Australian Rules footballers underwent, with clinical history unknown, clinical and MRI examination of the groin region. Clinical criteria (pain with tenderness) and MR-criteria (pubic bone marrow oedema) were used for diagnosis of pubic bone stress injury. End-range internal and external rotation hip motion was measured using a goniometer. Athletes with and without symptoms were compared, as were athletes with current symptoms with athletes who had recovered from their groin pain episode. Chronic groin injury was diagnosed in 47 athletes with 37 having pubic bone stress injury. Thirteen athletes had previous groin injury. A reduction of internal and external hip range of motion was demonstrated in athletes with pubic bone stress injury (p < 0.05) and in athletes who had current symptoms compared to those who had recovered from their groin pain episode (p < 0.05). A reduction in hip range of motion was evident in athletes with chronic groin injury diagnosed as pubic bone stress injury. There may be a role for increasing hip range of motion in rehabilitation.

Clinical risk factors for hamstring muscle strain injury: a prospective study with correlation of injury by magnetic resonance imaging.

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively establish risk factors for hamstring muscle strain injury using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to define the diagnosis of posterior thigh injury. METHOD: In a prospective cohort study using two elite Australian Rules football clubs, the anthropometric characteristics and past clinical history of 114 athletes were recorded. Players were followed throughout the subsequent season, with posterior thigh injuries being documented. Hamstring intramuscular hyperintensity on T2 weighted MRI was required to meet our criteria for a definite hamstring injury. Statistical associations were sought between anthropometric and previous clinical characteristics and hamstring muscle injury. RESULTS: MRI in 32 players showed either hamstring injury (n = 26) or normal scans (n = 6). An association existed between a hamstring injury and each of the following: increasing age, being aboriginal, past history of an injury to the posterior thigh or knee or osteitis pubis (all p<0.05). These factors were still significant when players with a past history of posterior thigh injury (n = 26) were excluded. Previous back injury was associated with a posterior thigh injury that looked normal on MRI scan, but not with an MRI detected hamstring injury. CONCLUSIONS: Hamstring injuries are common in Australian football, and previous posterior thigh injury is a significant risk factor. Other factors, such as increasing age, being of aboriginal descent, or having a past history of knee injury or osteitis pubis, increase the risk of hamstring strain independently of previous posterior thigh injury. However, as the numbers in this study are small, further research is needed before definitive statements can be made.

Computed tomography pulmonary angiography with pelvic venography in the evaluation of thrombo-embolic disease.

A prospective study was performed to evaluate the usefulness of CT pelvic venography (CTV) in the detection of pelvic vein thrombosis in patients referred for CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) for suspected pulmonary embolism. Fifty consecutive patients referred for CTPA had CTV performed at the time of CTPA. All patients had duplex ultrasound (DUS) of the lower limb veins for evaluation of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) within 24 h of the CT study. Twelve (24%) of the 50 patients had pulmonary embolism diagnosed on CTPA. Associated DVT was detected in six of these patients; two cases were detected by CTV alone, while one case was detected by both CTV and DUS. The remaining three cases had DVT diagnosed by DUS alone. In the 38 patients with a negative CTPA, three patients had venous thrombus diagnosed by CTV. Of these three patients, two had a negative DUS study. CTV therefore led to a definitive imaging diagnosis of thrombo-embolic disease in two (4%) more patients. CTV adds little time and cost to the CTPA examination and leads to a moderate increase in definite imaging diagnosis of thrombo-embolic disease.

Incidence of pubic bone marrow oedema in Australian rules football players: relation to groin pain.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the relation between the clinical features of groin pain and groin magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearances in a group largely comprising elite Australian Rules football players. The incidence of bone marrow oedema and other MRI findings in the pubic symphysis region was noted. The relation between a past history of groin pain and these other MRI findings was also examined. METHOD: In a prospective study, 116 male subjects (89 footballers, 17 umpires, 10 sedentary men) were examined before history taking and groin MRI. The clinical history was not known to the examiner (GMV) and radiologists (JPS, GTF). Clinical evidence of groin pain and examination findings were correlated with the presence of increased signal intensity within the pubic bone marrow. A past history of groin pain was correlated with the presence of other MRI findings such as cyst formation, fluid signal within the pubic symphysis disc, and irregularity of the pubic symphysis. RESULTS: Fifty two athletes (47 footballers, five umpires) had clinical features of groin pain with pubic symphysis and/or superior pubic ramus tenderness. A high incidence of increased signal intensity (77%) within the pubic bone marrow was identified in this group. There was an association between this group of athletes and the MRI finding of increased signal intensity (p<0.01). There was also an association between a past history of groin pain and the presence of other MRI findings (p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Athletes with groin pain and tenderness of the pubic symphysis and/or superior pubic ramus have clinical features consistent with the diagnosis of osteitis pubis. The increased signal intensity seen on MRI is due to pubic bone marrow oedema. An association exists between the clinical features of osteitis pubis and the MRI finding of pubic bone marrow oedema. A high incidence of pubic bone marrow oedema was also noted. Degenerative features visualised by MRI, such as subchondral cyst formation, were associated with a past history of groin pain. A stress injury to the pubic bone is the most likely explanation for these MRI findings and may be the cause of the clinical entity osteitis pubis.

The appearances of lumbar intraspinal synovial cysts.

Intraspinal synovial cysts most commonly occur in the lower lumbar spine and may cause radicular symptoms. Eight symptomatic patients are described, each of whom had a single synovial cyst with associated facet joint degeneration. Four were at the L4-5 level and two each at L3-4 and L5-S1. Myelography in four patients revealed a posterolateral indentation on the contrast column in each case. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a structure of similar or greater density than the thecal sac in six cases and of gas density in one case. Two of the former cases also contained gaseous elements, three cases had a mildly dense rim and in the eighth case calcification was demonstrated within the cyst. One cyst resolved after facet joint injection with local anaesthetic and steroid.

Fine needle aspiration in the chest under CT control.

Over a 42 month period 133 patients underwent 148 CT guided biopsies of 104 pulmonary lesions (78%), 21 mediastinal/hilar masses (16%) and 8 pleural lesions (6%). There were 48 cases (32%) complicated by a pneumothorax, of which 13 (9%) required a chest drain. Two cases each of minor haemopneumothorax (1.4%) and haematoma (1.4%) were found, and haemoptysis occurred in a single patient (0.7%). This low complication rate reflects the use of the 22 gauge Chiba needle, the small number of passes undertaken at each sitting and the wide range of lesion size. In four cases no diagnosis was established either at the time of biopsy or subsequently. There were 100 cases proven to be malignant, of which 81 were diagnosed at the first biopsy. Three further cases were regarded as suspicious of malignancy. Of the 29 patients with benign disease, a specific diagnosis was made in 10 (34%) and nonspecific inflammation was seen in 17 (59%) further patients. Fine needle aspiration under CT control is a useful and accurate diagnostic technique. It has widened the scope of lesions which can be biopsied, enabling small, deep or necrotic parenchymal lesions to be targeted accurately. A precise placement of the needle tip into pleural or mediastinal lesions is a further advantage. However, if an inadequate sample is obtained, the biopsy may need to be repeated.

Plain film and arthrographic findings in painful total hip arthroplasties with surgical correlation.

The plain films and arthrograms performed on 42 painful cemented hip arthroplasties in 40 patients were reviewed and the radiological findings compared to the surgical assessment of component stability. All radiography, which included Judet views in the plain films, was reviewed without knowledge of the surgical findings and without comparison with previous studies. Criteria for the detection of loosening of cemented femoral and acetabular components were predetermined. The accuracy of plain film assessment of acetabular component stability was increased significantly (p less than 0.05) by including oblique views in the plain film assessment. The accuracy of assessment of acetabular component stability on plain films was 88%, on arthrography 90% and, with both studies combined, was 98%. Femoral component stability was assessed accurately on 90% of plain films and 90% of arthrograms, and this was not improved by combining the studies. The difficulty of detecting low grade infections is discussed with results of pseudocapsule aspiration.

A randomized double-blind trial of ioversol and iopamidol in contrast-enhanced computed body tomography.

The authors compared iopamidol and ioversol in a double-blind study conducted on 81 patients (ioversol in 40 patients; iopamidol in 41 patients) undergoing computed body tomography (CT) for a variety of indications at the Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia. Each study was assessed for image quality and rated as diagnostic or nondiagnostic. Patients were monitored for blood pressure measurement, pulse rate, and respiration rate before and after contrast administration and were observed for the occurrence of side effects. Subjective assessments of heat and pain sensations also were obtained from the patients. With the exception of one patient studied with iopamidol, all investigations were rated as either good or excellent. In all cases, the examination was considered diagnostic. No adverse reactions were noted after administration of either contrast material, except in one patient who felt nauseated. Because the patient had reported feeling nauseated before the examination, this side effect was considered to be coincidental. One patient experienced mild pain from injection of iopamidol. In no cases were any drug-related or clinically significant changes in vital signs noted. In this study, both iopamidol and ioversol were well tolerated and effective, with few side effects after intravenous administration for contrast enhancement during whole-body CT.

Transluminal balloon angioplasty in diabetic peripheral vascular disease.

Transluminal (balloon) angioplasty of iliac or superficial femoral stenoses in 18 diabetic patients resulted in a significant improvement in ankle/brachial systolic pressure index with marked symptomatic improvement in 16, little change in one and deterioration requiring arterial bypass surgery in one patient. Follow-up for 12 months or more showed that the initial good results were sustained despite a downward drift in ankle pressures. These findings indicate that transluminal angioplasty has a useful place in the management of proximal atherosclerotic stenotic lesions in diabetic patients with symptomatic peripheral vascular disease.

Kyphosis and pulmonary function in cystic fibrosis.

Spine deformity and chronic pulmonary disease are commonly seen in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). In order to assess the prevalence of kyphosis, a retrospective evaluation of all initial standing chest radiographs of our CF patients matched with our "reference" population was undertaken. We also studied the possible correlation between the degree of kyphosis and the pulmonary function tests ( PFTs ), consisting of thoracic gas volume and maximal expiratory flows. In our population, the study confirmed an increased prevalence of kyphosis in CF patients (p less than .01), which occurred mostly in girls after 12 years of age (p less than .018). The kyphosis appeared to be, in most instances, of mild degree and was not related to any of the PFTs . No measurable increase of kyphosis was observed over a 3-year period in the group. Longer prospective study and the relationship of kyphosis to endocrine function in CF at puberty should be undertaken.

Computed tomography in cervical disc disease when myelography is unsatisfactory.

Water-soluble contrast media have replaced myodil for cervical myelography. In the presence of significant degenerative disease, the normal cervical lordotic curve may be decreased, straightened or even reversed, making it impossible to 'pool' sufficient contrast medium in this region. In such cases, third generation computed tomography is invaluable in confirming or excluding the presence of cervical disc protrusion.

Subjective vs. objective evaluation of gallbladder opacification during oral cholecystography in comparative clinical trials: implications for studies involving visual assessment.

Radiographs and CT images taken during oral cholecystography in dogs were interpreted in an independent, blind fashion by three radiologists on two occasions and visual assessment of gallbladder density compared to the actual CT values. While there was significant intra- and inter-observer variation, the mean scores for the observers' interpretations of both radiographs and prints correlated well with the actual CT values (p less than 0.05). In five out of six comparisons between first and second readings, the observers gave a lower score on the second reading. The considerable variation reflects the problems inherent in subjective evaluation of agents that produce small but measurable differences in radiographic density. Studies involving such subjective data have to be carefully designed in order to obtain meaningful results.

Radiographic features of osseous metastases of soft-tissue sarcomas.

In contrast to most other neoplastic processes of bone, in our study osseous metastases from soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) were more reliably detected by radiography than by scintigraphy. The radiographic manifestations of 65 skeletal metastases in 23 patients with STS were reviewed. Although most metastases (88%) were osteolytic, eight (12%) lesions were osteoblastic. The destructive patterns were geographic in 29%, moth-eaten in 55%, and permeative in 12% of the lesions. The axial skeleton was most commonly involved. In the long bones the diaphyses were the predominant sites of involvement. The bony cortex was frequently breached, with resultant soft-tissue swelling and pathologic fractures. Noteworthy features included subarticular location, involvement of the sacroiliac joint, and an expansile appearance.

Computed tomography of the anterior mediastinum in myasthenia gravis. A radiologic-pathologic correlative study.

Chest radiographs and computed tomographic (CT) scans of the mediastinum were correlated with pathologic findings of the thymus following thymectomy in 57 patients with myasthenia gravis. Based on the patient's age and the overall morphology of the anterior mediastinum, CT scans were assigned one of four grades in an attempt to predict thymus pathologic findings. Using this grading, 14 of 16 cases of thymoma were suspected or definitely diagnosed. One of the two cases not diagnosed on CT was a microscopic tumor. There were no false-positive diagnoses in 11 cases graded as definitely thymoma. We conclude that thymoma can be sensitively diagnosed in patients older than 40 years of age. However, thymoma cannot be predicted with a high level of confidence in patients younger than 40 because of the difficulty in differentiating normal thymus or hyperplasia from thymoma. Recommendations for the use of CT in the preoperative evaluation of myasthenic patients are presented.

Benign molar pregnancies: pulmonary complications.

Cardiopulmonary dysfunction has been observed after the removal of benign hydatidiform mole. Of 60 cases reviewed with benign trophoblastic disease, five developed respiratory complications. Two patients developed pulmonary edema that progressed to adult respiratory distress syndrome. Autopsy of two patients showed no evidence of pulmonary trophoblastic emboli. Possible etiologies for the pulmonary findings, including trophoblastic emboli, hypervolemia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, and hyperthyroidism, are discussed.

Intralesional BCG injection of pulmonary neoplasms: radiographic findings.

A clinical trial has been established to evaluate the use of intralesional bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy as an adjunct to surgery in resectable pulmonary neoplasms. BCG was injected percutaneously under fluoroscopic guidance into a single nodule in each of 21 patients with resectable primary and metastatic pulmonary neoplasms. Eighteen of 21 infected nodules increased in size and nine became poorly defined in the 2-4 week interval between BCG administration and resection. There was no change in those nodules that were not injected. The changes in the injected nodules were due to BCG-induced granulomatous inflammation and necrosis. BCG can be administered intralesionally into pulmonary neoplasms without significant complications (pneumothorax in nine, intrapleural injection in one). Preliminary observations suggest an improvement in disease-free interval. A prospective, randomized trial is planned to determine whether BCG immunotherapy will result in significantly improved survival in patients with primary and metastatic pulmonary neoplasms.