Potential impacts of a novel integrated extracorporeal-CPR workflow using an interventional radiology and immediate whole-body computed tomography system in the emergency department.

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (ECPR) can be associated with increased survival and neurologic benefits in selected patients with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). However, there remains insufficient evidence to recommend the routine use of ECPR for patients with OHCA. A novel integrated trauma workflow concept that utilizes a sliding computed tomography (CT) scanner and interventional radiology (IR) system, named a hybrid emergency room system (HERS), allowing emergency therapeutic interventions and CT examination without relocating trauma patients, has recently evolved in Japan. HERS can drastically shorten the ECPR implementation time and more quickly facilitate definitive interventions than the conventional advanced cardiovascular life support workflow. Herein, we discuss our novel workflow concept using HERS on ECPR for patients with OHCA.

Organisation of a radiological vascular access unit.

An interventional vascular access unit is usually part of an interdisciplinary centre, including departments of nephrology, vascular surgery, angiology and interventional radiology. We present recommendations on quality control, equipment and diagnostic and interventional techniques for the treatment of vascular access insufficiency.

Practical ways to reduce radiation dose for patients and staff during device implantations and electrophysiological procedures.

Despite the advent of non-fluoroscopic technology, fluoroscopy remains the cornerstone of imaging in most interventional electrophysiological procedures, from diagnostic studies over ablation interventions to device implantation. Moreover, many patients receive additional X-ray imaging, such as cardiac computed tomography and others. More and more complex procedures have the risk to increase the radiation exposure, both for the patients and the operators. The professional lifetime attributable excess cancer risk may be around 1 in 100 for the operators, the same as for a patient undergoing repetitive complex procedures. Moreover, recent reports have also hinted at an excess risk of brain tumours among interventional cardiologists. Apart from evaluating the need for and justifying the use of radiation to assist their procedures, physicians have to continuously explore ways to reduce the radiation exposure. After an introduction on how to quantify the radiation exposure and defining its current magnitude in electrophysiology compared with the other sources of radiation, this position paper wants to offer some very practical advice on how to reduce exposure to patients and staff. The text describes how customization of the X-ray system, workflow adaptations, and shielding measures can be implemented in the cath lab. The potential and the pitfalls of different non-fluoroscopic guiding technologies are discussed. Finally, we suggest further improvements that can be implemented by both the physicians and the industry in the future. We are confident that these suggestions are able to reduce patient and operator exposure by more than an order of magnitude, and therefore think that these recommendations are worth reading and implementing by any electrophysiological operator in the field.

Descompresión percutánea discal con láser para el tratamiento del dolor lumbo-radicular de origen discal / Percutaneous Laser Disc Decompression for lumbar discogenic radicular pain

Objetivos. El objetivo de nuestro estudio fue evaluar la eficacia de la descompresión percutánea discal con láser (DPDL) en el tratamiento del dolor lumbo-radicular de origen discal. Material y métodos. Desde junio de 2006 hasta julio de 2009 se incluyeron en este estudio 205 pacientes con hernia discal contenida demostrada mediante tomografía computarizada (TC) o resonancia magnética (RM), que presentaban concordancia entre el dolor radicular y la raíz nerviosa comprimida por el disco herniado, con hallazgos neurológicos referidos a una única raíz nerviosa y que no mejoraron tras un tratamiento conservador de al menos seis semanas. Todos los pacientes fueron tratados con DPDL guiada mediante TC y con anestesia local. Se realizaron controles al primer y segundo día y a los tres y seis meses. Los controles posteriores fueron a los 12, 24 y 36 meses y se realizaron mediante visita o por teléfono. Para la valoración del resultado clínico se aplicaron los criterios de MacNab. Resultados. El rango de edad fue de 27-78 años (media: 58±11 años). La afectación fue en 18 casos a nivel de L3-L4, en 123 casos a nivel de L4-L5 y en 64 casos a nivel de L5-S1. Siguiendo los criterios de MacNab, los resultados fueron: un 67% (n=137) mostraron un resultado bueno y un 9% (n=18) un resultado aceptable. No hubo complicaciones importantes en nuestro estudio. Conclusión. La DPDL es un tratamiento efectivo para el dolor lumbo-radicular de origen discal, que solo causa ligeras molestias al paciente. Esta técnica mínimamente invasiva es una alternativa adecuada para aquellos pacientes que no responden al tratamiento médico conservador, obviando en muchos casos la necesidad de intervenir la columna quirúrgicamente (AU)

Purpose. The aim of our study was to directly evaluate the effectiveness of percutaneous laser disc decompression (PLDD) for treatment of lumbar discogenic radicular pain. Materials and methods. From June 2006 through July 2009, 205 patients with contained disc herniation demonstrated on computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance, concordance between the radicular pain and the nerve root compressed by the herniated disc, neurological findings referring to a single nerve root and no improvement after conservative therapy for a minimum of six weeks were enrolled. All patients were treated with PLDD under CT guidance and local anaesthesia. Follow-up was scheduled at 1, 2 days, 3, 6 months. Subsequent follow-ups at 12, 24 and 36 months were carried out through visits or by telephone. Clinical outcome was quantified using the MacNab criteria. Results. The age of patients ranged from 27 to 78 years (mean 58±11 years). The levels of involvement were 18 cases at L3-L4, 123 cases at L4-L5 and 64 cases at L5-S1. Using the MacNab criteria, the results were as follows: 67% (n=137) showed a good outcome and 9% (n=18) a fair outcome. There were no serious complications in our series. Conclusion. PLDD is effective treatment for lumbar discogenic radicular pain, associated with only minimal discomfort to the patient. This minimally invasive technique is a valid alternative for those patients not responding to conservative medical treatment, allowing in many cases to obviate the need of spine surgery (AU)

Evaluation of patient doses due to fluoroscopic exposures.

The present study measures entrance surface doses of radiation administered to patients during various fluoroscopic procedures using a dose-area product meter as well as the duration of each procedure. A conversion factor for entrance skin dose to patients was calculated. The average dose to patient during the insertion of intravenous hyperalimentation was 10.2 (maximum, 74.0) mGy, during a barium meal, 58.4 (maximum, 184.0) mGy, for endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP), 97.3 (maximum, 376.0) mGy and for a barium enema, 86.1 (maximum, 271.0) mGy. Doses tended to increase in the abdominal domain and when patients undergo not only diagnostic evaluation but also treatment requiring procedures such as drainage. The management of radiation doses determined using a dose-area product meter is very important and that of individual patients is enabled using the Radiation Information System (RIS).

A new method of selective intra-arterial infusion therapy via the superficial temporal artery for head and neck cancer.

OBJECTIVE: We proposed a new selective intra-arterial infusion method via the superficial temporal artery for preventing dislocation of the catheter. STUDY DESIGN: This study included 92 patients who were treated by this combination therapy between May 1999 and December 2004. Primary tumor sites included the tongue in 73 patients, base of the tongue in 6 patients, floor of mouth in 4 patients, buccal mucosa in 4 patients, and other sites in 5 patients. Seventy-three patients had untreated lesions and 19 patients had recurrent lesions. Under fluoroscopy, a catheter was inserted into the target artery through the superficial temporal artery using a catheter exchange method. RESULTS: In 76 (83%) of 92 patients, a catheter was successfully inserted into the target artery. In 4 patients, the catheter fell out of the selected artery during treatment. CONCLUSION: This selective intra-arterial method will be an important modality for advanced tongue cancer.

Usefulness of cone-beam volume CT with flat panel detectors in conjunction with catheter angiography for transcatheter arterial embolization.

PURPOSE: To assess the usefulness of cone-beam volume computed tomography (CT) (cone-beam CT) with use of flat panel detectors of the direct conversion type in conjunction with conventional digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-nine consecutive patients (52 suspicious lesions) were prospectively examined. All patients underwent intraarterial rotational angiography with a flat panel detector system, and the cone-beam CT scans were reconstructed from the volume data set. The authors evaluated the diagnostic quality of cone-beam CT for the transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) procedure. RESULTS: The diagnostic quality of conventional DSA plus cone-beam CT with regard to tumor staining was superior to that of DSA alone. Cone-beam CT showed tumor staining in five lesions that were difficult to diagnose with confidence on the basis of the DSA findings alone. The extent of contrast medium perfusion was sufficiently visualized on all cone-beam CT scans at the tip of the catheter positioned in either the segmental or subsegmental hepatic arteries. In 42 of the 52 lesions (81%), cone-beam CT provided additional useful information for therapeutic decision making or TACE compared with DSA. CONCLUSIONS: Intraarterial cone-beam CT with a flat panel detector can provide clinically acceptable image quality in the assessment of HCC, thereby improving the detection of tumor staining due to HCC and the visualization of the extent of contrast medium perfusion.

Revision parathyroidectomy guided by intraoperative radionuclide imaging.

BACKGROUND: Technetium-99m sestamibi scintigraphy has become one of the most popular techniques for localization of the parathyroid gland after failure of primary neck exploration. OBJECTIVE: To examine the efficacy of sestamibi with the hand-held gamma ray detecting probe for the identification of parathyroid adenomas during revision parathyroidectomy. METHODS: We reviewed six cases of probe-assisted neck exploration for parathyroid lesions following unsuccessful primary exploration. RESULTS: In all cases the pathologic glands were successfully detected and removed. CONCLUSIONS: With careful planning, a gamma ray detecting probe can be used optimally 2-3 hours after technetium-99m sestamibi injection. The probe is efficient, easy and convenient to use.

Detailed endocardial mapping accurately predicts the transmural extent of myocardial infarction.

OBJECTIVES: This study delineates between infarcts varying in transmurality by using endocardial electrophysiologic information obtained during catheter-based mapping. BACKGROUND: The degree of infarct transmurality extent has previously been linked to patient prognosis and may have significant impact on therapeutic strategies. Catheter-based endocardial mapping may accurately delineate between infarcts differing in the transmural extent of necrotic tissue. METHODS: Electromechanical mapping was performed in 13 dogs four weeks after left anterior descending coronary artery ligation, enabling three-dimensional reconstruction of the left ventricular chamber. A concomitant reduction in bipolar electrogram amplitude (BEA) and local shortening indicated the infarcted region. In addition, impedance, unipolar electrogram amplitude (UEA) and slew rate (SR) were quantified. Subsequently, the hearts were excised, stained with 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride and sliced transversely. The mean transmurality of the necrotic tissue in each slice was determined, and infarcts were divided into <30%, 31% to 60% and 61% to 100% transmurality subtypes to be correlated with the corresponding electrical data. RESULTS: From the three-dimensional reconstructions, a total of 263 endocardial points were entered for correlation with the degree of transmurality (4.6 +/- 2.4 points from each section). All four indices delineated infarcted tissue. However, BEA (1.9 +/- 0.7 mV, 1.4 +/- 0.7 mV, 0.8 +/- 0.4 mV in the three groups respectively, p < 0.05 between each group) proved superior to SR, which could not differentiate between the second (31% to 60%) and third (61% to 100%) transmurality subgroups, and to UEA and impedance, which could not differentiate between the first (<30%) and second transmurality subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: The degree of infarct transmurality extent can be derived from the electrical properties of the endocardium obtained via detailed catheter-based mapping in this animal model.

Computed tomography image-guided surgery in complex acetabular fractures.

Eleven complex acetabular fractures in 10 patients were treated by open reduction with internal fixation incorporating computed tomography image guided software intraoperatively. Each of the implants placed under image guidance was found to be accurate and without penetration of the pelvis or joint space. The setup time for the system was minimal. Accuracy in the range of 1 mm was found when registration was precise (eight cases) and was in the range of 3.5 mm when registration was only approximate (three cases). Added benefits included reduced intraoperative fluoroscopic time, less need for more extensive dissection, and obviation of additional surgical approaches in some cases. Compared with a series of similar fractures treated before this image guided series, the reduction in operative time was significant. For patients with complex anterior and posterior combined fractures, the average operation times with and without application of three-dimensional imaging technique were, respectively, 5 hours 15 minutes and 6 hours 14 minutes, revealing 16% less operative time for those who had surgery using image guidance. In the single column fracture group, the operation time for those with three-dimensional imaging application, was 2 hours 58 minutes and for those with traditional surgery, 3 hours 42 minutes, indicating 20% less operative time for those with imaging modality. Intraoperative computed tomography guided imagery was found to be an accurate and suitable method for use in the operative treatment of complex acetabular fractures with substantial displacement.

Techniques for reducing interventional neuroradiologic skin dose: tube position rotation and supplemental beam filtration.

PURPOSE: To limit the side effects of interventional neuroradiologic radiation, such as epilation, by applying a technique involving tube position rotation and by adding a supplemental inexpensive primary beam filter; and to show the dose effect of modifying technical factors. METHODS: Combined skin dose from fluoroscopy and digital subtraction angiography was measured with an array of 16 thermoluminescent dosimeters during interventional neuroradiologic procedures in 12 control subjects, in 18 patients whose procedures included addition of an inexpensive primary beam filter (0.5 mm aluminum/0.076 mm copper), and in 10 patients in whom the tube position was rotated, additional primary beam filtration was used, and close attention was paid to technique. RESULTS: Maximum thermoluminescent dosimetric measurements obtained with existing machine filtration ranged from 0.31 to 2.70 Gy in the control group (mean, 1.51 +/- 0.88); 0.25 to 2.42 Gy in the group with additional filtration alone (mean 0.96 + 0.64; average dose reduction, 36%); and 0.13 to 1.23 Gy in the group with additional filtration, tube position rotation, and close attention to technique (mean, 0.58 +/- 0.34; average dose reduction, 63%). Differences were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Greater than 50% skin dose reductions were documented during interventional neuroradiologic procedures by combining tube position rotation, supplemental primary beam filtration, and technical modifications.

[Experiences with the endovascular embolization therapy of aneurysms of the splanchnic arteries--a report on 13 cases]. / Erfahrungen mit der endovaskulären Embolisationstherapie von Aneurysmata der Splanchnikusarterien--Bericht über 13 Fälle.

PURPOSE: The authors report on their experience in endovascular embolization therapy in 13 cases with splanchnic artery aneurysms or pseudoaneurysms. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Three patients suffered from true aneurysms, ten patients presented pseudoaneurysms of different origin. Eight patients were transferred to our department for life-threatening intestinal bleeding. Five patients showed transpapillary bleeding, four of whom presented with haemobilia and one patient had intermittent bleeding into the pancreatic duct due to a true aneurysm of the splenic artery. Embolization was performed using a coaxial microcatheter coil delivery system. In 4 patients the aneurysm-bearing vessel was temporarily blocked during the intervention. RESULTS: In 11 patients definite occlusion of the aneurysm was obtained without surgical intervention. In one patient, suffering from a splenic aneurysm, we observed a partial inadvertent embolisation of the spleen which did not require further treatment. In one case, rupture of an hepatic aneurysm during embolization occurred. One patient with pseudoaneurysm due to displacement of a port catheter showed severe rebleeding one day after embolisation. CONCLUSION: Transcatheter embolization is an effective method for treatment of aneurysms of the splanchnic arteries. To avoid life-threatening bleeding due to rupture of the aneurysm, the feeding vessel should be temporarily blocked during embolization therapy.

[The percutaneous x-ray endoscopic surgery of simple kidney cysts]. / Perkutannaia rentgenoéndoskopicheskaia khirurgiia prostykh kist pochki.

An endoscopical method of treating solitary renal cysts (RC) > 5 cm in diameter has been used in the Research Institute of Urology since 1989. The method implies percutaneous puncture of the cyst controlled by x-ray television or ultrasound, dilatation of the cystostomy fistula, cystoscopy followed by resection or dissection of the cyst wall with a cold knife or electrosurgically. A total of 38 patients with large solitary cysts have been treated. A 6-12-month follow-up revealed no recurrences. Complications of the surgery were not reported. The method is easy to accomplish, effective and well tolerated.