Tips and tricks for a proper radiological assessment of abdominal and pelvic lymph nodes.

The assessment of lymph node dimensions is a commonly used criterion in analyzing lymphatic involvement related to inflammatory or neoplastic diseases. However, it is important to understand that the interpretation of lymph nodes goes beyond simply considering their size. A pathologic lymph node can present with enlarged dimensions, a heterogeneous appearance, increased cortex thickness, irregular contours, or a lobulated shape. In this context, it is essential to consider not only the dimensions but also the morphology, attenuation, and enhancement of lymph nodes on imaging exams. This article aims to demonstrate how characteristics of lymph nodes, beyond their size, can provide crucial insights that assist in diagnostic reasoning, focusing on computed tomography. By emphasizing different enhancement patterns, attenuation, and the potential contents related to these patterns, the study seeks to show how these features can indicate possible differential diagnoses and guide more accurate clinical assessments.

Emergency CT of abdominal complications of ingested fish bones: what not to miss.

Fish bones are the most commonly ingested structures and the most common cause of foreign body perforation of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Clinical presentation of foreign body GIT perforation is nonspecific, in many cases with clinical signs of acute abdomen, which can mimic appendicitis, diverticulitis, ulcer peptic disease, and other common inflammatory conditions. Besides, patients commonly do not refer that a fish bone was swallowed. Since this condition is usually not suspected by referring physicians of the emergency department (ED), radiologists play a key role in this diagnosis; the spectrum of these imaging features must be known in order to be accurately reported in the ED.

Bosniak classification of cystic renal masses version 2019 does not increase the interobserver agreement or the proportion of masses categorized into lower Bosniak classes for non-subspecialized readers on CT or MR.

PURPOSE: In a condition so prevalent as renal cysts, classifications should display satisfactory reproducibility not only among subspecialized readers. We aimed to compare the interobserver agreement of the Bosniak classification version 2019 (BC19) and current Bosniak classification (CBC) for non-subspecialized readers on CT and MRI and to verify whether BC19 leads to a downgrade of renal cystic masses when compared to CBC. METHODS: We evaluated 50 renal cystic masses in 47 patients on MR and CT (25 per method). Eighteen readers (nine third-year radiology residents and nine abdominal imaging fellows) assessed the images using BC19 and CBC with an eight-week interval. Kappa statistic was used to assess agreement. An average score of Bosniak categories across all raters evaluated if there was downgrading of lesions on BC19. RESULTS: The highest values of Kappa were found for fellows on CBC-MR (κ = 0.51), and the lowest values were found for residents on CBC-MR and fellows on BC19-MR (both κ = 0.36). On CBC, interobserver agreement was moderate for MR and CT (κ = 0.42 and 0.43, respectively), whereas on BC19, it was fair (κ = 0.38 and 0.40, respectively). The best agreements were in categories I (κ = 0.49-0.69) and IV (κ = 0.45-0.51). The poorest agreements occurred at IIF (κ = 0.18 on BC19-CT). There was a moderate median increase from CBC to BC19 in terms of Bosniak categories for both methods (MR [Z=-2.058, p = 0.040] and CT [Z=-2.509, p = 0.012]). CONCLUSION: BC19, when compared to CBC, did not improve interobserver agreement nor diminished the proportion of masses categorized into lower Bosniak classes among non-subspecialized readers.