Mandatory Reporting of Coronary Artery Calcifications Incidentally Noted on Chest Multi-Detector Computed Tomography: A Multicentre Experience.

BACKGROUND: Coronary Artery Calcifications (CACs) are associated with coronary atherosclerosis and Cardiovascular (CV) events. In "non-cardiovascular" settings, CACs can be easily detected on chest Multi-Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT). Their evaluation may help to better stratify CV risk in the general population, especially for primary prevention. AIMS: We retrospectively evaluated the relationship between CAC distribution and CV risk, determined by Framingham Risk Score (FRS), in a cohort of patients who underwent chest MDCT performed for several clinical indications. METHOD: We retrospectively recruited 305 patients (194 men, 111 women; mean age 70.5 years) from 3 different Italian centres. Patients with coronary stent, pacemaker and/or CV devices were excluded from the study. Circumflex Artery (LCX), Left Main Coronary Artery (LMCA), left Anterior Descending artery (LAD) and right coronary artery (RCA) were analysed. RESULTS: From a total population of 305 patients, 119 (39%) had low FRS (<10%), 115 (38%) had intermediate FRS (10-20%), and 71 (23%) had high FRS (>20%). The study identified 842 CACs located in decreasing order as follows: RCA (34.5%), LAD (32.3%), LCX (28%) and LMCA (13%). Statistical two-step analysis subdivided patients into two clusters according to FRS (risk threshold = 12.38%): cluster I (mean 9.34) and cluster II (mean 15.09). A significant association between CAC distribution and cluster II was demonstrated. CACs were mostly detected in patients with intermediate FRS. All patients (100%) with the highest CV risk showed intermediate RCA and LMCA involvement. CONCLUSION: Radiologists can note the distribution of CACs on a chest MDCT and should mandatorily record them in their reports. Depending on CAC presence and location, these findings may have important clinical implications, mostly in asymptomatic patients with intermediate FRS. This information may reclassify a patients' CV risk and improve clinical management.

Situs inversus with levocardia, infrahepatic interruption of the inferior vena cava, and azygos continuation: a case report.

Situs inversus incompletus is a rare congenital condition in which the major abdominal organs are reversed or mirrored from their normal positions. It is often associated with multiple congenital anomalies. We present the case of a 38-year-old woman with dyspnea and a clinical history of chronic kidney disease and kidney transplantation. Echocardiography showed a right atrial mass, and analysis of multidetector computed tomography angiography revealed the interruption of the inferior vena cava with an increase of the azygos vein and azygos continuation. These congenital malformations are often associated with deep vein thrombosis and/or pulmonary thromboembolism and explained the occurrence of dyspnea. Cardiac magnetic resonance with contrast medium confirmed the presence of the right atrial mass, the characteristics of which were attributed to interatrial thrombus, which was further confirmed by the success of thrombolytic therapy and the remission of symptoms. In conclusion, we described a case of situs inversus with levocardia in association with infrahepatic interruption of the inferior vena cava, and azygos continuation with cardiac thrombus and chronic renal failure.

Sharp penetrating wounds: spectrum of imaging findings and legal aspects in the emergency setting.

The main cause of severe civilian trauma is not the same all over the world; while in Europe the majority of cases are due to blunt traumatic injury, in the United States, penetrating gunshot wounds are the most common. Penetrating wounds can be classified into two different entities: gunshot wounds, or more technically ballistic traumas, and sharp penetrating traumas, also identifiable with non-ballistic traumas. Sharp penetrating injuries are mainly caused by sharp pointed objects such as spears, nails, daggers, knives, and arrows. The type of injuries caused by sharp pointed objects depends on the nature and shape of the weapon, the amount of energy in the weapon or implement when it strikes the body, whether it is inflicted upon a moving or a still body, and the nature of the tissue injured. In the assessment of hemodynamically stable patients with sharp penetrating wounds, the main imaging procedure is Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT), especially used in complicated cases of penetrating injuries with an important impact on the final therapeutic choice. The diagnostic approach has been changed by MDCT due to its technical improvements, in particular, faster data acquiring and upgraded image reconstructions.

Dual-source dual-energy CT: dose reduction after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair.

PURPOSE: This study was done to evaluate the possibility of reducing the dose of ionising radiation by using dual-source dual-energy computed tomography (CT) in patients undergoing CT angiography of the aorta to search for endoleaks after endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and forty-eight patients (117 M, 31 F; mean age 75 ± 6.5) underwent 171 CT angiography scans for follow-up after EVAR. For each patient we performed a triple-phase acquisition protocol consisting of a nonenhanced phase, an arterial phase and a delayed phase; the latter acquired in dual energy. Two radiologists jointly evaluated the nonenhanced, arterial and delayed phase, and a third radiologist evaluated only the delayed phase and its virtual noncontrast (VNC) reconstruction. Moreover, we compared the cumulative effective doses of the triple-phase acquisition with the dual-energy acquisition. RESULTS: We detected 34 endoleaks (19.8 %), with 100 % agreement between the triple-phase and dual-energy acquisitions. The effective dose of dual-energy acquisition performed during the delayed phase was 61.7 % lower than that of the triple-phase acquisition. CONCLUSIONS: A dual-energy CT scan acquired during the delayed phase and its VNC reconstruction allow detection of endoleaks with a substantial reduction of effective dose and a complete diagnostic agreement with a triple-phase acquisition protocol.

High-pitch coronary CT angiography in dual-source CT during free breathing vs. breath holding in patients with low heart rates.

BACKGROUND: Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is usually performed during breath holding to reduce motion artifacts caused by respiration. However, some patients are not able to follow the breathing commands adequately due to deafness, hearing impairment, agitation or pulmonary diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of high-pitch CCTA in free breathing patients when compared to breath holding patients. METHODS: In this study we evaluated 40 patients (20 free breathing and 20 breath holding patients) with a heart rate of 60 bpm or below referred for CCTA who were examined on a 2nd generation dual-source CT system. Image quality of each coronary artery segment was rated using a 4-point grading scale (1: non diagnostic-4: excellent). RESULTS: Mean heart rate during image acquisition was 52 ± 5 bpm in both groups. There was no significant difference in mean image quality, slightly favoring image acquisition during breath holding (mean image quality score 3.76 ± 0.32 in breath holding patients vs. 3.61 ± 0.45 in free breathing patients; p = 0.411). Due to a smaller amount of injected contrast medium, there was a trend for signal intensity to be slightly lower in free breathing patients, but this was not statistically significant (435 ± 123 HU vs. 473 ± 117 HU; p=0.648). CONCLUSION: In patients with a low heart rate who are not able to hold their breath adequately, CCTA can also be acquired during free breathing without substantial loss of image quality when using a high pitch scan mode in 2nd generation dual-source CT.