Preoperative cerebral angiography nearly doubles the rate of diffusion-weighted imaging lesion detection following minimally invasive surgery for intracerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) lesions have been linked to poor outcomes after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We aimed to assess the impact of cerebral digital subtraction angiography (DSA) on the presence of DWI lesions in patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for ICH. METHODS: Retrospective chart review was performed on ICH patients treated with MIS in a single health system from 2015 to 2021. One hundred and seventy consecutive patients who underwent postoperative MRIs were reviewed. Univariate analyses were conducted to determine associations. Variables with p<0.05 were included in multivariate analyses. RESULTS: DWI lesions were present in 88 (52%) patients who underwent MIS for ICH. Of the 83 patients who underwent preoperative DSA, 56 (67%) patients demonstrated DWI lesions. In this DSA cohort, older age, severe leukoaraiosis, larger preoperative hematoma volume, and increased presenting National Institutes of Health Stroke Score (NIHSS) were independently associated with DWI lesion identification (p<0.05). In contrast, of 87 patients who did not undergo DSA, 32 (37%) patients demonstrated DWI lesions on MRI. In the non-DSA cohort, presenting systolic blood pressure, intraventricular hemorrhage, and NIHSS were independently associated with DWI lesions (p<0.05). Higher DWI lesion burden was independently associated with poor modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 6 months on a univariate (p=0.02) and multivariate level (p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In this cohort of ICH patients who underwent minimally invasive evacuation, preprocedural angiography was associated with the presence of DWI lesions on post-ICH evacuation MRI. Furthermore, the burden of DWI lesions portends a worse prognosis after ICH.

Diffusion Weighted Imaging in Spine Tumors.

Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) has developed into a powerful tool for the evaluation of spine tumors, particularly for the assessment of vertebral marrow lesions and intramedullary tumors. Advances in magnetic resonance techniques have improved the quality of spine DWI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in recent years, with increased reproducibility and utilization. DTI, with quantitative parameters such as fractional anisotropy and qualitative visual assessment of nerve fiber tracts, can play a valuable role in the evaluation and surgical planning of spinal cord tumors. These widely available techniques can be used to enhance the diagnostic evaluation of spinal tumors.

Assessment of lower extremity arterial blood flow in females with knee osteoarthritis.

To investigate whether blood flow in the lower extremity arteries changes in patients with osteoarthritis (OA) using color Doppler ultrasonography. The study comprised 39 female patients with osteoarthritis and 30 healthy female controls. The patients were evaluated using visual analogue scale (VAS) at rest and the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC). Color Doppler imaging was used to measure mid-diastolic velocity (MD), pulsatility index (PI), peak systolic velocity (PS), end-diastolic velocity (ED), vascular diameter, and flow volume in the external iliac (EIA), common femoral (CFA), superficial femoral (SFA), deep femoral (DFA), popliteal (PA), anterior tibial (ATA), posterior tibial (PTA), and distal superficial femoral arteries (DSFA). The femoral artery intima-media thickness (FIMT) was also measured. OA patients' PS and flow volume in the EIA and SFA were greater than those of controls, as were PI and ED in the EIA, ED in the PA, MD in the DFA, and the diameter of the PA, ATA, and PTA (p < 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in FIMT between patients with knee OA and controls (p > 0.05). The flow volume of the main arteries feeding the knee joint is significantly greater than normal in patients with symptomatic knee OA. No evidence was identified relating this difference to ischemic processes.

A morbid coexistence: thrombosed descending thoracic aorta aneurysm and aortic insufficiency with aortic diastolic reverse flow.

A 76-year-old woman presented with difficulty in speech and weakness on right arm and leg. Her medical history was remarkable only for uncontrolled hypertension for a long period. Dysarthria, right central facial paralysis, right hemiparesis and hypoactive deep tendon reflexes were noticed on neurological examination. Moderate degree aortic insufficiency with aortic diastolic reverse flow was detected on transthoracic echocardiography. Thrombosed aortic aneurysm on descending thoracic aorta, and an acute hemorrhagic infarction in the distribution of the left middle cerebral artery were depicted on thorax, and brain computed tomography scans, respectively. Cerebrovascular event was medically managed and whereas conservative management was offered for thrombosed descending thoracic aorta aneurysm.

Evaluation of resistive index using color Doppler imaging of orbital arteries in geriatric patients with hypertension.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Resistive index (RI) is an indirect measurement of blood flow resistance that can be used to evaluate vascular damage in ophthalmologic disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between RI values of orbital arteries using the color Doppler imaging (CDI) in geriatric hypertensive patients with or without retinopathy. SETTING AND DESIGN: Designed as a cross-sectional study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated 60 geriatric patients with hypertension (Group 1) and 30 healthy subjects (Group 2). Further, the patients with hypertension were grouped into two: Group 1a consisted of patients with retinopathy (n = 30), and group 1b consisted of patients without retinopathy (n = 30). The mean RI values of ophthalmic artery (OA), central retinal artery (CRA), and posterior ciliary artery (PCA) were measured using CDI. RESULTS: Compared to group 2, group 1 had significantly higher mean resistive index of PCA levels (P = 0.017), whereas there were no statistical difference in mean resistive indexes of OA and CRA (both P > 0.05). Besides, there were no statistical difference in mean resistive indexes of OA, CRA, and PCA between the group 1a and group 1b (P > 0.05 for all). Mean resistive indexes of OA, CRA, and PCA were significantly correlated with the duration of hypertension (r = 0.268, P = 0.038; r = 0.315, P = 0.014; r = 0.324, P = 0.012, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that RI might be a useful marker for the ocular hemodynamic of retinal vessels, provides morphologic and vascular information in hypertension and hypertensive retinopathy.

Quantitative evaluation of ischemic myocardial scar tissue by unenhanced T1 mapping using 3.0 Tesla MR scanner.

PURPOSE: We aimed to use a noninvasive method for quantifying T1 values of chronic myocardial infarction scar by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and determine its diagnostic performance. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed cardiac MRI on 29 consecutive patients with known coronary artery disease (CAD) on 3.0 Tesla MRI scanner. An unenhanced T1 mapping technique was used to calculate T1 relaxation time of myocardial scar tissue, and its diagnostic performance was evaluated. Chronic scar tissue was identified by delayed contrast-enhancement (DE) MRI and T2-weighted images. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy values were calculated for T1 mapping using DE images as the gold standard. RESULTS: Four hundred and forty-two segments were analyzed in 26 patients. While myocardial chronic scar was demonstrated in 45 segments on DE images, T1 mapping MRI showed a chronic scar area in 54 segments. T1 relaxation time was higher in chronic scar tissue, compared with remote areas (1314±98 ms vs. 1099±90 ms, P < 0.001). Therefore, increased T1 values were shown in areas of myocardium colocalized with areas of DE and normal signal on T2-weighted images. There was a significant correlation between T1 mapping and DE images in evaluation of myocardial wall injury extent (P < 0.05). We calculated sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy as 95.5%, 97%, and 96%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study reveal that T1 mapping MRI combined with T2-weighted images might be a feasible imaging modality for detecting chronic myocardial infarction scar tissue.

Joubert syndrome: the clinical and radiological findings.

Joubert syndrome is a rare disease characterised by clinical and radiological findings. Among the classic clinical findings of JS are hypotonia, ataxia, mental-motor retardation, respiratory and opthalmological findings. The paediatric cases included in the study comprised nine patients. There was familial consanguinty in seven cases. Clinically, all cases had mental-motor retardation and hypotonia. Episodic hyperpnoea attacks were observed in one case. Facial dysmorphism was the most common additional systemic anomaly and four cases had additional opthalmic findings. Brain MRI examination revealed that all cases had molar tooth sign, bat-wing appearance and vermian cleft. The majority of cases also had vermian hypoplasia. Cerebellar folial disorganisation was observed in approxiamtely half of the cases. Three cases had corpus callosum anomaly and atretic occipital encephalocoele. No pathology was determined in other organs. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and radiological findings of 9 patients diagnosed with Joubert syndrome.

Forty-five degree wrist angulation is optimal for ultrasound guided long axis radial artery cannulation in patients over 60 years old: a randomized study.

Arterial cannulation is a common anaesthetic procedure that might be challenging and time-consuming in elderly patients. To establish an appropriate wrist joint position for arterial cannulation is crucial for ultrasound (US)-guided cannulation success. This study aimed to find out the optimal wrist joint angle for long axis in-plane (LA-IP) US-guided approach in radial artery cannulation in elderly patients. One hundred patients over 60 years old, who were assumed to require an arterial catheter for continuous blood pressure monitoring or frequent blood gas analysis in the intensive care unit or in the operating room were included in this prospective randomized study. Patients were randomized to five groups according to the wrist positions (0°, 15°, 30° 45° and 60° groups) for LA-IP approach for radial artery cannulation. Cannulation time (s), number of attempts, total success rate (%), first attempt success rate were recorded in all patients. Mean radial artery height was increased in 45° group compared to other groups (p < 0.05). Distance between skin and radial artery in 45° and 60° groups were statistically significantly decreased compared to 0° group (p < 0.05 for all comparisons). Mean cannulation time of 45° group was statistically decreased compared to other groups (p < 0.05). Number of attempts and total success rate were similar among groups, whereas first attempt success rate was significantly increased in 45° group compared to other groups (p < 0.05). Mean arterial height of the first attempt successful group was statistically increased compared to the first attempt failed group (p < 0.001) and mean cannulation time and mean number of attempts were also negatively correlated with arterial height (p < 0.001; for all comparisons). The 45° wrist angle increment might be advantageous in US-guided LA-IP radial artery cannulation in elderly patients in view of cannulation time and first attempt success rate.