Spectrum of MRI findings in clinical athletic pubalgia.

Athletic pubalgia is a frequently encountered syndrome for clinicians who treat active patients participating in a wide variety of athletic endeavors worldwide. Pathologies associated with this clinical scenario span anatomically from the pubic symphysis to the hip and include a myriad of poorly understood and incompletely described musculoskeletal entities, many of which are centered about the pubic symphysis and its tendinous attachments. In this article, we discuss the relevant anatomy and pathophysiology for the most frequently encountered of these disorders, using magnetic resonance (MR) images as a guide. We describe an MR imaging protocol tailored to clinical athletic pubalgia. We then review reproducible MRI patterns of pathology about the pubic symphysis, the rectus abdominis/adductor aponeurosis and the inguinal ring, as well as a group of clinically confounding entities remote from the symphysis but visible by MRI.

64-detector row computed tomography: an improved tool for evaluating the biliary and pancreatic ducts?

The imaging evaluation of patients with suspected pancreaticobiliary abnormality includes noninvasive imaging modalities such as sonography and MRI. The use of computed tomography (CT) has typically been limited to the evaluation and staging of malignancy affecting the pancreas and biliary tree. With the increasing use of CT in abdominal imaging for patients with a wide variety of indications, biliary and pancreatic abnormalities are being initially identified with increasing frequency on CT. The evolution of CT technology to multi-detector channel row (MDCT) scanners, currently culminating in use of 64-detector-row MDCT scanners, has provided unprecedented image quality. We have recently installed three 64-MDCT scanners in our institution and, in this article, we describe our experience in their application to imaging of the pancreatic and biliary ducts. Our current protocols for imaging the biliary tree and pancreatic duct using this technology are discussed. Additionally, the advantages of novel interpretation techniques including multi-planar and minimum intensity projection reformations are detailed. Various diseases affecting the pancreaticobiliary tree are briefly discussed along with their typical imaging evaluation. The application of 64-MDCT technology to these abnormalities is described along with expected imaging findings on CT. The imaging findings of various pancreaticobiliary abnormalities using 64-MDCT scanner technology encountered at our institution are illustrated. In summary, 64-MDCT technology offers several technical advances which may increase utilization of CT in the evaluation and diagnosis of pancreaticobiliary abnormalities.

Benign and malignant processes: normal values and differentiation with chemical shift MR imaging in vertebral marrow.

PURPOSE: To establish retrospectively a range of values for signal intensity change in normal vertebral marrow by using chemical shift magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and to assess the use of this technique in differentiating benign from malignant marrow abnormalities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Institutional Review Board approval for this retrospective, HIPAA-compliant study was obtained; informed consent was waived. A total of 569 normal vertebrae in 75 patients (42 women, 33 men; mean age, 57.5 years; age range, 26-84 years) (control group) and 221 lesions in 92 patients (50 women, 42 men; mean age, 59.0 years; age range, 27-85 years) (study group) who had focal vertebral marrow abnormalities were studied by using 1.5-T chemical shift MR imaging. Imaging time was less than 1 minute. The proportional change in signal intensity on in-phase compared with out-of-phase images was calculated by using 1 x 1-cm regions of interest (ROIs) in the control group and ROIs as large as possible for focal lesions in the study group. This change in signal intensity (expressed as a percentage) was compared with that of normal levels and benign and malignant lesions. For statistical analysis, a random effect model was used that was adjusted for multiple comparisons. RESULTS: A substantial decrease in signal intensity was noted for all normal vertebrae (mean, 58.5%) and for benign lesions, including endplate degeneration (mean, 52.2%), Schmorl nodes with edema (mean, 58.0%), hemangiomas (mean, 49.4%), and benign fractures (mean, 49.3%). Metastases exhibited either a minimal decrease or an increase in signal intensity (mean, 2.8%). Although there was some overlap in the range of signal intensity values among malignant lesions, benign lesions, and normal marrow, the differences in signal intensity loss for normal marrow and benign and malignant lesions were significant (P < .01 for all pairwise comparisons after adjusting for multiplicity). CONCLUSION: Bone marrow in the vertebral bodies displays somewhat variable behavior at chemical shift MR imaging. Results suggest that a decrease in signal intensity greater than 20% on out-of-phase images compared with in-phase images should be used as a cutoff threshold for normalcy to allow distinction between benign and malignant causes of vertebral marrow abnormalities.