Diagnostic utility of CT enterography in the evaluation of ileocecal mucosal lesions of uncertain diagnosis on ileocolonoscopy.

Purpose: Ileocolonoscopy aids in the diagnosis of ileocecal region pathologies when typical mucosal lesions are seen. However, in many cases the mucosal lesions of the ileocaecal region are atypical, rendering themselves to diagnostic dilemma. The present study aimed to study the role of computed tomography (CT) enterography in the evaluation of symptomatic patients who demonstrated ileocecal mucosal lesions of uncertain diagnosis on ileocolonoscopy. Material and methods: Symptomatic patients who had ileocolonoscopy documented ileocecal mucosal lesions of uncertain diagnosis were enrolled. Patients were subjected to CT enterography within 10 days of ileocolonoscopy. On CT enterography a diagnosis of Crohn's disease (CD) or ileocaecal tuberculosis (ITB) was made. The diagnosis obtained by CT enterography was correlated with the final diagnosis obtained from histopathology. Using descriptive statistics, the diagnostic performance of CT enterography was evaluated. Results: A total of 153 cases were enrolled in the study. CT enterography findings were present in 147 cases, resulting in a diagnostic yield of 96%. Out of these, 58.16% (89/153) had CD, 26.14% (40/153) had ITB, 6.5% (10/153) had infectious ileitis, and 9.15% (14/153) were indeterminate on histopathology. CT enterography correctly identified 78.65% (70/89) of CD and 75% (30/40) of ITB. CT enterography had a sensitivity of 78.65% and 75%, specificity of 67.19% and 87.61%, positive predictive value of 76.92% and 68.18%, and diagnostic accuracy of 73.86% and 84.31% for diagnosing CD and ITB, respectively. Conclusions: CT enterography provided a high diagnostic yield in ileocaecal mucosal lesions of uncertain significance on endoscopy. CD and ITB were the predominant diseases detected in these individuals. CT enterography had a good diagnostic performance in the detection of these 2 disorders.

The effectiveness of image-guided percutaneous catheter drainage in the management of acute pancreatitis-associated pancreatic collections.

PURPOSE: Acute pancreatitis is commonly complicated by the development of pancreatic collections (PCs). Symptomatic PCs warrant drainage, and the available options include percutaneous, endoscopic, and open surgical approaches. The study aimed to assess the therapeutic effectiveness and safety of image guided percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) in the management of acute pancreatitis related PCs. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a single-centre prospective study covering a 4-year study period. Acute pancreatitisrelated PCs complicated by secondary infection or those producing symptoms due to pressure effect on surrounding structures were enrolled and underwent ultrasound or computed tomography (CT)-guided PCD. The patients were followed to assess the success of PCD (defined as clinical, radiological improvement, and the avoidance of surgery) and any PCD-related complications. RESULTS: The study included 60 patients (60% males) with a mean age of 43.1 ± 21.2 years. PCD recorded a success rate of 80% (16/20) for acute peripancreatic fluid collections (APFC) and pancreatic pseudocysts (PPs), 75% (12/16) for walled-off necrosis (WON), and 50% (12/24) for acute necrotic collections (ANCs). Post-PCD surgery (necrosectomy ± distal pancreatectomy) was needed in 50% of ANC and 25% of WON. Only 20% of APFCs/PPs patients required surgical/endoscopic treatment post-PCD. Minor procedure-related complications were seen in 4 (6.6%) patients. CONCLUSION: PCD is an effective, safe, and minimally invasive therapeutic modality with a good success rate in the management of infected/symptomatic PCs.

The spectrum of imaging findings in pulmonary hydatid disease and the additive value of T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in its diagnosis.

PURPOSE: To describe the spectrum of imaging findings in pulmonary echinococcosis and to study the additive value of T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the characterisation of pulmonary hydatid disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a descriptive, prospective study conducted for a period of 3 years from December 2016 to November 2019. Patients suspected of having pulmonary echinococcosis (n = 110) on preliminary chest radiography were examined with chest computed tomography (CT). Among them 41 cases were additionally examined with T2-weighted MRI of thorax. Final diagnosis was based on surgery or histopathology. RESULTS: Of the 110 patients enrolled for the study 15 were lost to attrition, and among the final cohort of 95 patients CT correctly diagnosed 68/84 (80.9%) as hydatid cyst, whereas 16/84 (19.1%) received an erroneous alternate diagnosis on CT. Based on the classical findings of hyperintense pulmonary cystic lesion with T2-weighted hypointense rim or detached internal T2-weighted hypointense membrane, a correct diagnosis of hydatid cyst was possible in 30 patients whereas a correct alternate diagnosis was made in 8 cases. T2-weighted MRI was found to have sensitivity of 96.7%, specificity of 80%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 93.7% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 88.9% with an overall diagnostic accuracy of 92.6%. Using the McNemar test, MRI was found to be diagnostically superior to CT (p = 0.019). CONCLUSIONS: Most of the pulmonary hydatid cysts can be diagnosed on CT; however, sometimes the findings may be indeterminate or atypical, leading to a diagnostic dilemma. MRI, owing to its ability to demonstrate hypointense endocyst, can act as a useful adjunct to correctly diagnose hydatid cyst or suggest an alternative diagnosis.

The spectrum of multimodality imaging findings in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis and the potential role of diffusion-weighted imaging in its characterisation.

PURPOSE: To study the spectrum of imaging findings in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis (HAE) and to evaluate the potential role of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in its characterisation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Two radiologists with more than seven years of experience retrospectively studied ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in 23 histopathologically proven cases of HAE with emphasis on the appearance and extent of disease. DWI characteristics of lesions were noted, and their apparent diffusion values (ADC) were calculated. RESULTS: Ultrasonography features of HAE included heterogeneous, hyperechoic hepatic mass with or without calcification (n = 20), or heterogeneous mass with solid-cystic appearance (n = 2). CT revealed heterogeneous density infiltrative hepatic mass with no contrast enhancement in 19 patients or thick-walled cystic mass (n = 4). Following Kodama classification one type 1, six type 2, two type 3, eight type 4, and two type 5 lesions were identified on T2-weighted MRI. No enhancement was seen on post-contrast T1-weighted images. Mean ADC values were 1.74 ± 0.48 × 10-3 mm2/s (range: 1.39 × 10-3 mm2/s to 2.3 × 10-3 mm2/s). CONCLUSIONS: HAE by virtue of its infiltrative growth pattern with a tendency to involve biliary, vascular, and extra hepatic structures can be easily misdiagnosed as malignant hepatic neoplasm. Knowledge of varied imaging appearances of HAE is essential to suspect the condition and to make an appropriate diagnosis. Diffusion-weighted imaging is a useful adjunct with relatively high diffusivity (high ADC values) suggesting diagnosis of alveolar hydatid.

Management of a diagnostic radiology department amid Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SAR-CoV-2) is a highly contagious infectious disease and spreads through aerosols and fomites. Health care personnel who are at the forefront of the fight against coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic are also at greater risk of contracting the infection. Mixing of uninfected people with infected people is potentially hazardous, especially in a radiology department. Implementation of meticulous operational changes, curtailment of nonurgent radiological work, rationalization of staff, equipment disinfection, use of personal protection equipment, and psychological support are needed to combat COVID-19 or any such infectious disease outbreak. This technical note will familiarize radiology workers with infectious disease outbreak-response to be adopted to ensure the safety of staff and patients.

Spectrum of chest CT manifestations of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): A pictorial essay.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is an enveloped single-stranded RNA virus belonging to the family of betacoronaviruses. Chest computed tomography (CT) has helped us in understanding this new disease. Typical CT features of COVID-19 pneumonia are ground-glass opacities (GGO), crazy paving pattern and GGO with superimposed consolidation with a basal, posterior and peripheral lung predilection. Less commonly bronchial wall thickening, bronchial dilatation and pleural thickening are seen. Presence of pleural effusion, pericardial effusion and mediastinal lymphadenopathy is seen in severe cases. Reticulations, fibrous stripes, reverse halo sign and perilobular opacities are seen late (>2 weeks) in the course of illness. We aim to present a pictorial review of CT imaging findings in COVID-19 to illustrate the typical and atypical manifestations of this disease in a bid to familiarize radiologists with the myriad imaging manifestations of this disease.

Septo-optic Dysplasia with Cerebellar Hemiagenesis.

A 1-month-old girl child, who was found to have hydrocephalus on prenatal ultrasound, was postnatally evaluated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain, which showed two classical findings of septo-optic dysplasia (SOD), namely optic nerve hypoplasia and absent septum pellucidum. In addition, the patient was found to have cerebellar hemiagenesis.

Preoperative contrast-enhanced computed tomographic characterisation of pancreatic cystic lesions: A prospective study.

BACKGROUND: Characterisation of pancreatic cystic lesions has a direct role in their management and computed tomography is the mainstay of investigation for diagnosing and characterising them. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to prospectively assess the diagnostic accuracy of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) in preoperative characterisation of pancreatic cystic lesions with histopathology as the reference standard. METHOD: A total of 38 patients with cystic pancreatic lesions diagnosed after clinical, laboratory and sonographic evaluation, irrespective of age, were preoperatively evaluated with CECT. Images were reviewed for the general characteristics of the lesions on pre-contrast and portal venous phase images and overall diagnostic accuracy calculated. Imaging findings were compared with histopathology, or cytology and/or intra-operative findings. RESULTS: Serous cystadenoma (SCA) was the most common cystic pancreatic lesion found in 31.6% of patients followed by mucinous cystadenoma (MCA) (26.3%), solid pseudo-papillary tumour (SPT) (21.1%) and intra-ductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) (10.5%). Three patients (7.9%) had simple cysts and one patient (2.6%) had a lymphangioma. The diagnostic accuracy of CECT for pancreatic cystic lesions was found to be 72.5. CONCLUSION: The diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography (CT) was high for SCA, IPMN and pancreatic cysts, and low for MCA and SPT. Combination of a multiloculated cystic lesion with locule size of less than 20 mm, septal enhancement with relative lack of wall enhancement, central scar and lobulated outline are highly specific for SCA. Unilocular or macro-cystic pattern with locule size of more than 20 mm, female gender and wall enhancement with smooth external contour are pointers towards MCA. Solid cystic pancreatic head lesions in young females may be suggestive of SPT. A dilated main pancreatic duct in a cystic lesion with internal septations may point towards IPMN. Fluid attenuation lesions with imperceptible non-enhancing wall indicate pancreatic cysts. Lastly, pseudocysts and neuroendocrine tumours with cystic components are great mimickers of pancreatic cystic lesions, and a history of pancreatitis and hormonal profile of patients should always be sought.