Neurologic pathologies of the vertebral spine.

At some institutions, musculoskeletal and general radiologists rather than neuroradiologists are responsible for reading magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the spine. However, neurological findings, especially intrathecal ones, can be challenging. Intrathecal neurological findings in the spine can be classified by location (epidural, intradural extramedullary, and intramedullary) or etiology (tumor, infection, inflammatory, congenital). In this paper, we provide a succinct review of the intrathecal neurological findings that can be seen on MRI of the spine, primarily by location and secondarily by etiology, in order that this may serve as a helpful guide for musculoskeletal and general radiologists when encountering intrathecal neurological pathologies.

MRI Findings of Arachnoiditis, Revisited. Is Classification Possible?

BACKGROUND: Prior imaging studies characterizing lumbar arachnoiditis have been based on small sample numbers and have reported inconsistent results. PURPOSE: To review the different imaging patterns of lumbosacral arachnoiditis, their significance, and clinical implications. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. POPULATION: A total of 96 patients (43 women; average age 61.3 years) with imaging findings of arachnoiditis (postsurgical: N = 49; degenerative: N = 29; vertebral fracture: N = 6; epidural and subdural hemorrhage: N = 3, infectious: N= 1; other: N = 8) from January 2009 to April 2018. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: Sagittal and axial T2-weighted Turbo Spin Echo at 1.5 T and 3 T. ASSESSMENT: Chart review was performed to assess the cause of arachnoiditis, and imaging was reviewed by two musculoskeletal and three neurology radiologists, blinded to the clinical data and to each other's imaging interpretation. Previous classification included a three-group system based on the appearance of the nerve roots on T2-weighted images. A fourth group was added in our review as "nonspecified" and was proposed for indeterminate imaging findings that did not fall into the classical groups. The presence/absence of synechiae/fibrous bands that distort the nerve roots and of spinal canal stenosis was also assessed. STATISTICAL TESTS: The kappa score was used to assess agreement between readers for both classification type and presence/absence of synechiae. RESULTS: Postsurgical (51%) and degenerative changes (30%) were the most common etiologies. About 7%-55% of arachnoiditis were classified as group 4. There was very poor classification agreement between readers (kappa score 0.051). There was also poor interreader agreement for determining the presence of synechiae (kappa 0.18) with, however, strong interreader agreement for the presence of synechia obtained between the most experienced readers (kappa 0.89). DATA CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the lack of consensus and clarity in the classification system of lumbar arachnoiditis. The presence of synechia has high interreader agreement only among most experienced readers and promises to be a useful tool in assessing arachnoiditis. EVIDENCE LEVEL: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2.

Behavioral Changes Without Respiratory Symptoms as a Presenting Sign of COVID-19 Encephalitis.

The clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) encephalitis are still being characterized. Few case reports describing COVID-19 encephalitis are available in the literature. We present a case of COVID-19 encephalitis who presented with behavioral disturbances without respiratory symptoms.

A Potential Role For Apparent Diffusion Coefficient in the Diagnosis of Trilateral Retinoblastoma.

We attempted to investigate the potential role for apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) to diagnose trilateral retinoblastoma (TRb) by retrospectively reviewing brain magnetic resonance images of retinoblastoma patients. Observations: The median ADC measured 620.95 for TRb (n=6) and 1238.5 for normal pineal gland in bilateral retinoblastoma (n=8). Monitoring ADC trends aided in establishing the appropriate diagnoses in 3 patients (2 TRb, 1 benign pineal cyst). Conclusions: Our results provide baseline reference data and describe the importance of downward trending ADC which should prompt consideration of TRb. Unchanged high/nonrestricted values (>1000) may distinguish those with benign pineal tissue and obviate invasive neurosurgical procedures.

Specialized second-opinion radiology review of PET/CT examinations for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma impacts patient care and management.

To identify discrepancies in fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) reports generated by general radiologists and subspecialized oncological radiologists for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and to assess if such discrepancies impact patient management.Two radiologists retrospectively reviewed 72 PET/CT scans of patients with DLBCL referred to our institutions between 2009 and 2011, and recorded the discrepancies between the outside and second-opinion reports regarding multiple preset criteria using kappa statistic (Κ), including the disease stage. A multidisciplinary staging that considered all patient clinical data, pathology, and follow up radiological scans, was considered as standard of reference. A hemato-oncologist, blinded to the reports' origin, subjectively graded the quality and structure of these reports for each patient to determine if clinical stage and disease activity could be derived accurately from these reports.Agreement was not, or slightly, achieved between the reports regarding the binary and multilevel criteria (Κ < 0-0.2 and weighted Κ = 0.082, respectively). Second-opinion reviews of PET/CT scans were concordant with the multidisciplinary staging in 78% of cases with an almost perfect agreement (Κ = 0.860). A change in staging was demonstrated in 36% of cases. In addition, 68% of second-opinion reports were assigned the highest grades on quality (grades 4 and 5) by the hemato-oncologist, compared with 15% of outside reports, with no noted agreement (weighted Κ = -0.007).Second-opinion review of PET/CT scans by sub-specialized oncological radiologists increases accuracy of initial staging, posttreatment evaluation and also the clinical relevance of the radiology reports.

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor with aneurysms of the gastroduodenal artery: a case report.

Gastroduodenal artery (GDA) aneurysm is a very rare condition. It is divided into false aneurysms (pseudoaneurysms) associated with pancreatitis and true aneurysms secondary to celiac trunk stenosis. We report a 24-year-old patient who was diagnosed with pancreatic head neuroendocrine tumor and was incidentally found to have multiple GDA aneurysms in the absence of celiac artery stenosis. The aneurysms were embolized because of the presumed high risk of bleeding. The procedure was successful with no recurrence on follow-up computed tomography scan.