Maximal thickness of the normal human pericardium assessed by electron-beam computed tomography.

The purpose of this study was to determine the maximal value of normal pericardial thickness with an electron-beam computed tomography unit allowing fast scan times of 100 ms to reduce cardiac motion artifacts. Electron-beam computed tomography was performed in 260 patients with hypercholesterolemia and/or hypertension, as these pathologies have no effect on pericardial thickness. The pixel size was 0.5 mm. Measurements could be performed in front of the right ventricle, the right atrioventricular groove, the right atrium, the left ventricle, and the interventricular groove. Maximal thickness of normal pericardium was defined at the 95th percentile. Inter-observer and intra-observer reproducibility studies were assessed from additional CT scans by the Bland and Altman method [24]. The maximal thickness of the normal pericardium was 2 mm for 95 % of cases. For the reproducibility studies, there was no significant relationship between the inter-observer and intra-observer measurements, but all pericardial thickness measurements were

Reproducibility of coronary calcification detection with electron-beam computed tomography.

If coronary calcification scores obtained with electron-beam computed tomography (EBT) were proved to be correlated to coronary atherosclerosis, the reproducibility of the technique had to be assessed before being used for patient follow-up. A total of 150 patients, selected as a result of a cholesterol screening programme, were studied by EBT. Twelve contiguous 3-mm-thick transverse slices beginning on the proximal coronary arteries were obtained through the base of the heart. The amount of calcium was evaluated as the calcified area weighted by a coefficient depending on the density peak level. The value was expressed as a logarithmic scale. Intra-observer, inter-observer and inter-examination reproducibilities were calculated. They were 1.9, 1.3 and 7.2%, respectively. These results were good enough to allow the use of EBT for longitudinal studies. The influence of acquisition and calculation conditions on score computation were also analysed.

[Detection and significance of coronary calcinosis]. / Dépistage et signification des calcifications coronaires.

Coronary calcifications (CC) are the witness of atheromatous disease because they lies in intima. This is a best stamp of coronary atheromatosis than all the well know risk factors. CC scores is perfectly estimated by EBT. The reproductibility expressed in logarithm data is 7.2% in inter-examination, 1.3% in inter-observers, 2% in intra-observers [4]. CC detection is more specific in young population than in old population because CC appear and increase with age in asymptomatic patients [12]. But the score curve raised higher in symptomatic than in asymptomatic subjects. A patient with an abnormal score for his age will have 5 to 10% of ischemic cardiac disease during the following 6 months [11].

[Biliary cystadenocarcinoma. Apropos of a case]. / Cystadénocarcinome biliaire. A propos d'un cas.

Biliary cystadenocarcinoma is rare biliary ductal neoplasm, usually occurring in middle-aged women, which arises in a healthy liver, with a better prognostic than other malignant tumors of the liver. We report a new case documented by echography, CT scan and MR. Echography showed multiple heterogeneous and septate masses with fluid-fluid level and dilatation of the intra-hepatic biliary ducts. CT showed multilocular cystic masses with internal septa and papillary excrescences showing contrast enhancement and no calcification. MR displayed a rather intense and variable signal in some parts of the masses on T1 weighted images, flasching on T2 weighted images, corresponding to a hemorrhagic fluid, confirmed by surgery. On T1 weighted images after gadolinium administration, the masses were less well visualized.