Detection of laryngeal tumors and tumoral extension by multislice computed tomography-virtual laryngoscopy (MSCT-VL).

Virtual endoscopy is becoming a widely used non-invasive clinical diagnostic tool. The present study was designed to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the conventional endoscopy and virtual laryngoscopy with respect to laryngeal masses. A total of 38 patients (20 males, 18 females, mean age 61 years) with the complaint of hoarseness were included in the study. Laryngeal mucosa, lumen and mass pathology were evaluated initially by direct endoscopy and then by virtual laryngoscopy during multislice CT of the larynx. Histopathologic evaluation of the masses was also made. The main pathology of the patients was found to be laryngeal masses (60% of patients, one mass for each patient), which were polyps (n = 8), papilloma (n = 4) and carcinoma (n = 11) according to histopathologic evaluation. Retrospective evaluation of 6 lesions detected in virtual but not in conventional laryngoscopy resulted with the finding of viscous-dense mucous secretion. On the contrary, three lesions detected by conventional laryngoscopy could not be detected by virtual evaluation. A total of six patients were evaluated and considered as normal both by conventional and virtual laryngoscopic examinations. Sensitivity of the virtual laryngoscopy was 88% (23/26) while its specificity was only 50% (6/12). Positive and negative predictive values were 79% (23/29) and 66% (6/9), respectively. Accuracy of the virtual laryngoscopy was 76% (29/38). Virtual laryngoscopy is not an alternative to conventional laryngoscopy but may assist direct endoscopy without causing additional radiation exposure or discomfort to the patient. The three-dimensional contribution to interpretation of the results and subsequent manipulation of the data can be used for educational and surgical purposes.

Cerebral white-matter lesions in asymptomatic military divers.

INTRODUCTION: There is some concern that over a period of years, diving may produce cumulative neurological injury even in divers who have no history of decompression sickness. We evaluated asymptomatic divers and controls for cerebral white-matter lesions using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: The study enrolled 113 male military divers (34.4 +/- 5.6 yr) and 65 non-diving men (33.1 +/- 9.0 yr) in good health. Exclusion criteria included any condition that might be expected to produce neurological effects. Patent foramen ovale was not assessed. A questionnaire was used to elicit diving history. A 1.5-T MRI device was used to acquire T1, T2-weighted, and fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images of the brain. A lesion was counted if it appeared hyperintense on both T2-weighted and FLAIR images. RESULTS: MRI revealed brain lesions in 26 of 113 divers (23%) and in 7 of 65 (11%) controls, a difference that was statistically significant. There was no significant difference between the groups with respect to blood pressure, smoking history, or alcohol consumption, and no subject reported a history of head trauma or migraine. There was no relationship between MRI findings and age, diving history, or lipid profile in divers. DISCUSSION: The higher incidence of lesions in the cerebral white matter of divers confirms the possibility that cumulative, subclinical injury to the neurological system may affect the long-term health of military and recreational divers.