Assessment of skin and associated soft tissue changes with ultrasonography in chronic venous disease.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic venous disease (CVD) is accompanied by a spectrum of skin changes. The aim of this study was to assess skin changes in CVD in different classes of the classifications such as the Clinical-Etiology-Anatomy-Pathophysiology (CEAP) classification using ultrasound (US). METHODS: This study was conducted from July 2020 to July 2021 after obtaining approval from Institutional Ethical Committee. Patients with chronic venous insufficiency were enrolled after taking informed consent. Assessment of cutaneous layer (CL), subcutaneous layer (SCL), dermo-hypodermal junction (D-HJ), and other significant US findings were noted. RESULTS: Ninety-eight limbs were evaluated. Most common skin finding was dermal edema in 59 (60.2%) legs. Other findings included infiltrates, CL thickening, hyper echogenicity and thickening of SCL, anechoic lacunae, disappearance of D-HJ, and epidermal loss or change in thickness of epidermis. Notably, US detected dermal edema in 15 and infiltrates in five C2 legs (normal on inspection). CONCLUSION: US evaluation of skin changes adds insight to clinical assessment and may reveal skin changes in legs affected with CVD that may appear normal on clinical examination.

Scope of PET imaging in the evaluation of cardiac tumors.

Cardiac and pericardial masses can be categorized as neoplastic (either benign or malignant), non-neoplastic (such as thrombus or pericardial cysts), or normal variants of the cardiac structure. Diagnosing these masses can be challenging, and various imaging modalities are available, with each of them having advantages and pitfalls. Echocardiography is typically the first test used for the evaluation and detection of cardiac masses, as it is widely accessible, portable, and provides a comprehensive assessment of cardiac function and valves without the use of ionizing radiation. However, it may not be helpful in some cases, such as evaluating the extracardiac extension of the mass or characterizing tissue. On the other hand, cross-sectional imaging can provide a three-dimensional data set with excellent spatial resolution. Still, it requires ionizing radiation and intravenous iodinated contrast, and its functional evaluation of the heart may be relatively limited. 18F-FDG PET/CT helps determine 18F-FDG PET/CT is a crucial molecular imaging modality to assess and differentiate benign and malignant cardiac tumors noninvasively and helps in treatment planning and prognostication. Currently, studies evaluating the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in cardiac tumors are limited to case reports and single center studies.