Baseline staging imaging for distant metastasis in women with stages I, II, and III breast cancer.

Background: In Ontario, there is no clearly defined standard of care for staging for distant metastasis in women with newly diagnosed and biopsy-confirmed breast cancer whose clinical presentation is suggestive of early-stage disease. This guideline addresses baseline imaging investigations for women with newly diagnosed primary breast cancer who are otherwise asymptomatic for distant metastasis. Methods: The medline and embase databases were systematically searched for evidence from January 2000 to April 2019, and the best available evidence was used to draft recommendations relevant to the use of baseline imaging investigation in women with newly diagnosed primary breast cancer who are otherwise asymptomatic. Final approval of this practice guideline was obtained from both the Staging in Early Stage Breast Cancer Advisory Committee and the Report Approval Panel of the Program in Evidence-Based Care. Recommendations: These recommendations apply to all women with newly diagnosed primary breast cancer (originating in the breast) who have no symptoms of distant metastasis Staging tests using conventional anatomic imaging [chest radiography, liver ultrasonography, chest-abdomen-pelvis computed tomography (ct)] or metabolic imaging modalities [integrated positron-emission tomography (pet)/ct, integrated pet/magnetic resonance imaging (mri), bone scintigraphy] should not be routinely ordered for women newly diagnosed with clinical stage i or stage ii breast cancer who have no symptoms of distant metastasis, regardless of biomarker status. In women newly diagnosed with stage iii breast cancer, baseline staging tests using either anatomic imaging (chest radiography, liver ultrasonography, chest-abdomen-pelvis ct) or metabolic imaging modalities (pet/ct, pet/mri, bone scintigraphy) should be considered regardless of whether the patient is symptomatic for distant metastasis and regardless of biomarker profile.

Trapped renal arteries: functional renal artery stenosis due to occlusion of the aorta in the arch and below the kidneys.

Acute renal failure is a well recognized complication from the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in patients with severe bilateral renovascular disease. A 54-year-old woman presented with acute pulmonary edema with intractable hypertension and a history of lower limb claudication. The addition of lisinopril to her antihypertensive regimen resulted, within 48 h, in the development of acute renal failure that remitted with cessation of the drug. She was found to have a heavily calcified occlusion of her aortic arch and another occlusion of the aorta below the renal arteries. Angiography and Doppler ultrasonography showed normal renal arteries. This is the first reported case of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor-induced renal failure occurring in a patient with atherosclerotic occlusion of the aorta. The literature on suprarenal aortic occlusion is reviewed to determine the manner of presentation, prevalent risk factors and physical findings that typify this unique clinical entity.

Osteoid osteoma: MR imaging revisited.

To assess and compare with computed tomography (CT) the performance of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the detection of osteoid osteoma, and determine the features of this lesion on MR imaging. The prospective MR imaging and CT diagnosis of osteoid osteoma was determined from original radiology reports. MR images were assessed retrospectively with regard to the location and signal intensity of the nidus and surrounding bone marrow and soft tissue edema. These findings were correlated with the age of the patient, duration of symptoms, and drug therapy. Ten patients with histologically proven osteoid osteoma who underwent MR imaging were reviewed. All 10 lesions were correctly diagnosed at the time of MR imaging. None of the lesions was intracortical. Nine lesions were intra-articular. Two out of five patients with extracortical lesions had false negative CT preceding the MR study. Signal intensity of the nidus, marrow, and soft tissue edema on MR imaging were variable. Perinidal edema was most pronounced in younger patients and had no apparent relation to drug therapy. MR imaging reliably demonstrates the nidus of an osteoid osteoma, which has a variable appearance related to its position relative to the cortex of the bone. A predominance of cancellous osteoid osteomas are encountered in patients referred for MR imaging. Marrow edema in the vicinity of the lesion improves the conspicuity of the nidus. CT may fail to diagnose osteoid osteoma when the nidus is in a cancellous location, due to the lack of perinidal density alteration.

Popliteal vessels in knee surgery. A magnetic resonance imaging study.

Popliteal artery injury during surgery of the knee is rare but can have devastating consequences. The position of knee flexion has been thought to be protective for the popliteal artery, allowing it to fall back from the knee joint. No prior study has provided in vivo cross sectional evidence of the behavior of the popliteal vessels during knee flexion with the effect of gravity. Magnetic resonance imaging was used in nine volunteers to measure the distance of the popliteal artery and veins from the posterior proximal tibia at two levels corresponding to the levels of osteotomy in total knee arthroplasty and in high tibial osteotomy. Scans were taken with the knee in full extension and at 90 degrees flexion with the patient in the supine position, allowing for the effect of gravity. Considerable variation in behavior of the vein and the artery was observed at the high tibial osteotomy cross sectional level and the total knee arthroplasty cross sectional level. In two knees at the high tibial osteotomy cross sectional level and in two knees at the total knee arthroplasty cross sectional, level the artery moved closer to the posterior tibia with knee flexion. Even with the effect of gravity included, knee flexion does not guarantee removal of the popliteal vessels from potential harm during surgery of the knee.

Occult osteochondral lesions after anterior cruciate ligament rupture. Six-year magnetic resonance imaging follow-up study.

Twenty-three patients with acute anterior cruciate ligament injuries, normal radiographs, and occult osteochondral lesions revealed by magnetic resonance imaging were reviewed 6 years after initial injury and anterior cruciate ligament hamstring autograft reconstruction. Each patient completed the Mohtadi Quality of Life outcome measure for anterior cruciate ligament deficiency, underwent clinical examination, and had a repeat magnetic resonance imaging scan. The index and follow-up magnetic resonance imaging scans were compared with respect to cartilage thinning and marrow signal. A significant number of patients had evidence of cartilage thinning adjacent to the site of the initial osteochondral lesion. Marrow signal changes persisted in 15 (65%) of the patients. Clinical comparison of patients with normal cartilage with those who had cartilage thinning revealed similar results on both KT-1000 arthrometry and on the Mohtadi outcome measure. This suggests that the initial injury resulted in irreversible changes in the knee. Injuries causing marrow signal changes may result in an alteration in the load-bearing properties of subchondral bone, which in turn allow for changes in the overlying cartilage. Further follow-up will determine the clinical significance of changes detected by magnetic resonance imaging.

Osteoid osteoma: MR imaging of two untreated lesions.

Nonoperative management is currently the preferred method of treatment for osteoid osteoma by some orthopedic surgeons. The follow-up imaging appearance of osteoid osteoma in patients who are managed conservatively has not previously been described in radiology literature, and it is unclear what the natural evolution of the imaging findings is. Such patients may present to the radiologist either for follow-up assessment of the lesion or as an incidental finding during imaging for an unrelated complaint. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in two patients with osteoid osteoma who underwent conservative treatment are presented.

Need for radiologists to interpret orthopedic total joint radiographs.

We applaud the aim of Nayak and colleagues: to use our scarce economic resources as judiciously as possible. We have suggested several alternatives that would save more of our scarce health care dollars. We would be delighted to take part in a properly designed prospective randomized trial to address the issues presented in this paper. We believe the literature would be strengthened by the publication of a collegial paper, coauthored by orthopedic and radiology departments, addressing the issue of saving health care dollars by omitting unnecessary or redundant procedures.