[Pyoderma gangrenosum with aseptic spleen abscess]. / Pyoderma gangrenosum et abcès splénique aseptique.

BACKGROUND: Pyoderma gangrenosum is a neutrophilic dermatosis in which systemic involvement is rare. It may be associated with systemic disease. We report a case of pyoderma gangrenosum in the spleen. CASE REPORT: A 68-year-old man presenting pyoderma gangrenosum with pustules and stage I multiple myeloma was admitted for asthenia and abdominal pain. There were no skin lesions. Laboratory tests showed inflammatory syndrome with polynuclear leucocytes of 25,000/mm(3). CAT scans and abdominal ultrasound revealed a splenic abscess. A spleen biopsy was performed and histological examination showed polynuclear leukocyte infiltration, while cultures were negatives. Diagnosis of pyoderma gangrenosum with splenic involvement was made. Increased systemic corticosteroid therapy produced a successful outcome. Haematological findings remained unchanged. DISCUSSION: Spleen involvement in pyoderma gangrenosum is very rare and can mimic an infectious process. In such cases, routine screening is essential for associated diseases, particularly haematological malignancies.

[Noninvasive coronary artery imaging: CT and MR]. / Imagerie non invasive des artères coronaires: TDM et IRM.

The advent of helical multidetector CT has significantly modified several traditional clinical approaches to cardiovascular diagnosis. The current availability of rapid image acquisition has provided the basis for investigating direct imaging in real time of cardiac structures using CT. Application of thin-section submillimetric image acquisitions to three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction algorithms produces 3D data sets from which images of the coronary arteries may be obtained in any anatomic plane. The advantage of the submillimetric isotropic spatial resolution is partly offset by reduced temporal resolution as well as reduced contrast resolution compared to MRI. This lack in contrast sensitivity prevents accurate perfusion imaging and restricts the clinical use to coronary artery imaging. Moreover, the large amount of iodinated contrast medium injected has potential nephrotoxic effects, which can be deleterious if coronary artery angiography must to be performed. On the other hand, MRI has less spatial resolution, and acquisitions must be performed in the plane of each coronary artery because of reduced volume coverage. Both techniques play a role in the non-invasive assessment of coronary artery disease, by providing complementary information already useful in a growing number of clinical situations.

[Cardiomyopathies]. / Cardiomyopathies.

Cardiomyopathies include a wide variety of cardiac diseases. The value of MR imaging is not only to provide information about cardiac function, but also to detect the underlying cause of the disease.

[Complications of myocardial infarction]. / Complications de l'infarctus du myocarde.

Most acute complications of myocardial infarction do not need emergency imaging, since they often result in death prior to hospital admission: ventricular fibrillation and tachycardia, papillary muscle or septal rupture, fissuration and tamponade. Imaging can play a role at distance of the acute phase (papillary muscle dysfunction, false aneurysm, development of a mural thrombus associated to left ventricular apical dyskinesis, with potential embolic complications).