ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Femoroacetabular impingement has become a well-recognized entity predisposing to acetabular labral tears and chondral damage, and subsequently development of osteoarthritis of the hip joint. In the authors' experience, it is common to see bony abnormalities predisposing to femoroacetabular impingement in the contralateral asymptomatic hips in patients with unilateral femoroacetabular impingement. PURPOSE: This study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of bony abnormalities predisposing to femoroacetabular impingement in asymptomatic individuals without exposing study participants to unnecessary radiation. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: Fifty individuals (100 hip joints), ranging from 15 to 40 years of age, who were seen at a local hospital between March and August 2008 with abdominal trauma or nonspecific abdominal pain in whom abdominal computed tomography was performed to aid diagnosis were prospectively studied. These patients were not known to have any history of hip-related problems. Raw data from the abdominal computed tomography scan, performed on a 64-slice multidetector computed tomography scanner, were reformatted using bone algorithm into several different planes. Several measurements and observations of the hip joints were made in relation to femoroacetabular impingement. RESULTS: The 100 hip joints from 50 patients with no history of hip problems demonstrated that 39% of the joints (31% of female, 48% of male joints) have at least 1 morphologic aspect predisposing to femoroacetabular impingement. The majority (66% to 100% ) of the findings were bilateral; 33% of female and 52% of male asymptomatic participants in our study had at least 1 predisposing factor for femoroacetabular impingement in 1 or both of their hip joints. Based on the data collected from this study, the acetabular crossover sign had a 71% sensitivity and 88% specificity for detecting acetabular retroversion. Nonquantitative assessment of the femoral head at the anterior, anterolateral, and lateral head/neck junctions demonstrated that 74% of the joints had an aspherical femoral head. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated substantial prevalence of bony characteristics predisposing to femoroacetabular impingement in asymptomatic individuals according to the established measurement parameters in current literature.
Subject(s)
Acetabulum/physiopathology , Femur Head/physiopathology , Hip Joint/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, X-Ray Computed , Acetabulum/diagnostic imaging , Adult , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Femur Head/diagnostic imaging , Hip Joint/physiopathology , Humans , Male , New Zealand , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this essay are to illustrate the causes of FLAIR hyperintensity in the subarachnoid space and to outline the mechanisms of the findings. CONCLUSION: FLAIR subarachnoid space hyperintensity may be encountered with both pathological conditions and artifacts. Knowledge of these conditions and appearances coupled with any associated findings may suggest the cause of the FLAIR subarachnoid space hyperintensity. A diffuse distribution and a lack of ancillary findings often remain nonspecific and may require clinical correlation and CSF analysis.
Subject(s)
Artifacts , Brain Diseases/diagnosis , Image Enhancement/methods , Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted/methods , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Subarachnoid Space/pathology , Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Subarachnoid Hemorrhage/pathologyABSTRACT
A 43-year-old woman taking warfarin for past venous thrombosis presented with 4 days of flu-like symptoms and deterioration in level of consciousness. Computed tomography suggested subarachnoid haemorrhage, and magnetic resonance imaging showed widespread cerebral infarcts. However, these seemed out of proportion to the amount of haemorrhage, and lumbar puncture revealed meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae.
