Radiology Case of the Month: TB or Not TB That is the Question.

45-year-old female presenting initially with fever, nonproductive cough, night sweats, pleuritic chest pain, fatigue and weight loss over the past month.

Radiology Case Of The Month: Mental Disturbance for 4 days.

A 56 year old African-American man presented to the emergency department with dyspnea and dysphagia with drooling. On his initial evaluation, disproportionate obesity of the face, neck and shoulders were noted. The patient's history was significant for obstructive sleep apnea, end-stage renal disease, alcoholic liver disease, pulmonary hypertension and alcoholic cardiomyopathy. He had multi-decade history of heavy alcohol abuse, but quit drinking two years previously.

Radiology Case of the Month: Idiopathic CD4 Lymphocytopenia.

A 39 year-old male with a history of diabetes, retinitis pigmentosa, and genital warts presented with intractable occipital headaches accompanied with nausea and vomiting. The patient had markedly depressed CD4 counts. Furthermore the patient tested negative for HIV and HTLV 1/2 and had normal immunoglobulin levels. During hospital course the patient underwent a lumbar puncture and multiple imaging exams, including both CT and MR. Except for occasional nausea and vomiting controlled by therapeutic lumbar punctures, phenergan, and dilaudid the patient's hospital course was uncomplicated.

Radiology Of The Month: Spontaneous Bilateral Pneumothoraces in an HIV-Infected Patient.

A 36-year-old woman with past medical history of HIV/AIDS not on HAART therapy (CD4 count of 34) and recurrent Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia presented to the emergency room for cough, chest pain, and worsening shortness of breath over the past 72 hours.

Radiology Case of the Month: Persistent Lateral Foot Pain.

A 33-year-old female presents with persistent lateral foot pain. Patient does not recall prior trauma that may have led to injury. Symptoms are significantly improved with rest and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications.

Radiology Case of the Month: Gliomatosis Cerebri.

A 71 year-old female with a past medical history significant for hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and strokes, presented initially to the stroke service with a sudden onset of right facial droop, right-sided weakness, dysarthria, and seizures that had gotten progressively worse for six weeks.

Radiology Case Of The Month: Brain Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Bilateral Hyperintensities in the Globus Pallidi.

An MRI of the brain and spine of an 11-year-old male revealed the following abnormality which is consistent with his chronic condition.

Radiology Case of the Month: An Unusual Etiology of Increased Abdominal Girth in a 42-Year-Old Man.

A 42-year-old man with diabetes and hypertension presented to the emergency room after experiencing a several month history of gradually increasing abdominal girth with the sudden onset of abdominal pain.

RADIOLOGY OF THE MONTH: Pulmonary Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (PLCH).

PURPOSE: Obtaining a tissue sample diagnostic of pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis (PLCH) by transbronchial biopsy is notoriously difficult. The condition's appearance on computed tomography is well described and singularly characteristic, perhaps adequate for definitive diagnosis. We propose an approach to diagnosis of these patients. METHODS: Radiology case report of PLCH in a middle-aged female smoker with two week history of nonproductive cough, low grade fevers, and fatigue. RESULTS: Computed tomography (CT) provided the diagnosis of PLCH. Transbronchial biopsies failed to provide a definitive diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Utility of transbronchial biopsy in diagnosis of PLCH is limited. Patients who present with signs, symptoms and high resolution computed tomography typical of PLCH do not require a correlation by tissue diagnosis. If cancer is suspected, a wedge biopsy should be performed for tissue diagnosis.

Radiology Case of the Month: A Case with Relapsing Episodes of Weakness and Seizures.

A 23-year-old man presented to the clinic with a oneweek history of left upper and lower extremity numbness, starting in his left hand and progressing to his left foot. He then experienced intermittent difficulty walking and left-sided drooling. The patient also reported having a left arm abscess one week earlier, for which he received penicillin and oxycodone and acetaminophen. He denied any weakness, seizure, headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, or focal neurological deficit, as well as any recent history of immunization or upper respiratory infection symptoms. During the initial visit, magnetic resonance images were obtained. Over the course of the next year, the patient presented to the hospital six times for additional symptoms including weakness, slurred speech, and seizures. During this period, brain biopsy, serology tests, and MR spectroscopy were performed confirming the initial diagnosis. Moreover, multiple MR images were performed showing progression and relapsing. RADIOLOGICAL DIAGNOSIS: Multiphasic Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis.

Radiology Case of the Month:Diagnosis and Treatment of an Acquired Uterine Arteriovenous Malformation in a 26-Year-Old Woman presenting with Vaginal Bleeding.

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are a rare source of potentially life-threatening uterine bleeding, and should be suspected in patients presenting with metromenorrhagia. Histologically, AVMs are characterized as having both arterial and venous tissues without an intervening capillary network.1 The etiology may be either congenital or acquired secondary to prior uterine surgery or uterine malignancy.2 Congenital lesions are thought to result from arrested vascular development and contain a nidus of multiple feeding arteries anastomosed to multiple draining veins. In contrast, acquired lesions contain small fistulas between a single feeding artery and draining vein.4 While angiography is considered the gold standard for diagnosing AVMs, its limitations include exposure to contrast and radiation and the inability to accurately detect the degree of pelvic extension.5 As a result, ultrasound (US) with color Doppler is the imaging modality of choice in suspected AVM and can be confirmed noninvasively with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).6 Angiography remains the preferred method of imaging when there is a high index of suspicion of AVM in a patient who may potentially undergo embolization as treatment.3 Historically, the definitive treatment for AVMs has been either hysterectomy or uterine artery ligation. However, embolotherapy has become a well-recognized alternative to surgery since the first reported case in 1982.5 One of the advantages of embolotherapy is the preservation of reproductive structures. Currently, treatment for AVMs is based on the patient's desire to maintain fertility. The objective of this study was (1) to describe the diagnostic features of an AVM on Doppler ultrasound in a patient who presented with vaginal bleeding and (2) discuss the treatment and outcome of this patient using uterine artery embolization.

RADIOLOGY OF THE MONTH: Vocal Cord Dysfunction with Multiple Cranial Neuropathies.

A 67-year-old female presented to our institution with a progressive history of hoarseness for the past six months. The patient also referred shoulder weakness and cough during the same period of time. She denied weight loss and tobacco use. Past medical history was negative for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck region. Physical examination demonstrated asymmetry of the sternocleidomastoid and trapezius muscles. Flexible laryngoscopy was performed and revealed complete unilateral vocal cord paralysis on the right. Magnetic Resonance (MR) of the brain with intravenous contrast (Figure 1) and computer tomography (CT) of soft tissue of the neck with contrast (Figure 2) were performed for further evaluation.

Radiology Case of the Month: Rising Creatinine in an Elderly Woman.

To assess an elevated creatinine, a 67-year old woman underwent renal ultrasound which incidentally revealed an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA).

Radiology case of the month. 55-year-old female with shortness of breath and cough.

A 55-year-old African-American woman presents with progressive shortness of breath, non-productive cough, and muscle aches for two weeks. Her medical history is non-contributory. She is a current smoker with a 20-year history of smoking one pack per day. Vital signs and oxygen saturation are normal. Physical exam reveals crackles over the right middle lobe of her lung. The remainder of her physical exam is unremarkable. Blood tests demonstrate a mild leukocytosis.

Radiology case of the month. Abnormally dilated arteries in an asymptomatic male. RADIOLOGIC DIAGNOSIS: Aortic coarctation. There is narrowing in the region of the aortic isthmus (arrows, Figures 2 and 4). The extent of collateral arterial dilation (arrows, Figures 1 and 3) suggests this to be a hemodynamically significant finding.

A 61-year-old male with a past medical history of chronic, uncontrolled hypertension received a non-contrasted computed tomogram (CT) of the chest and abdomen to investigate for possible Conn syndrome. This noncontrast study showed some areas of nodularity around the vertebral bodies bilaterally and extending into the posterior mediastinal region. A CT of the chest with intravenous contrast, and 3D reconstruction were then obtained.

Radiology case of the month. Progressive slurring of speech and difficulty reading in a 62-year-old male. Final diagnosis: Metastatic small cell cancer of the prostate gland.

A 62-year-old male with controlled hypertension, coronary artery disease, and borderline diabetes presented to the emergency room after experiencing a gradual one-month progression of slurring of speech and difficulty reading. The patient maintained his vital signs throughout his ambulance ride to the hospital and was clinically stable at time of arrival to the emergency department.

Radiology case of the month. 49-year-old female with an anterior mediastinal mass.

Castleman's disease is an uncommon benign lymphoproliferative disorder characterized by hypervascular lymphoid hyperplasia. Two distinct histologic variants of Castleman's disease exist - hyaline vascular type and plasma cell type. The etiology is uncertain; however, it is thought to be inflammatory or hamartomatous in nature. Castleman's disease can occur at any age with a peak incidence in the third to fourth decade. This article presents a case of Castleman's disease in a female patient and aims to educate about the natural history, diagnosis, and management of the disease.

Radiology of the month. Headache. Subdural hematoma.

A 28-year-old woman with a three-year history of epilepsy was evaluated with intracranial monitoring, which consisted of two subdural strip electrodes and eight depth electrodes. On the third day of monitoring, she developed a headache but no focal signs or symptoms.

MRS findings in a patient with juvenile-onset Alexander's leukodystrophy.

Alexander's leukodystrophy is a rare cerebral white matter disorder with an onset that can be infantile, juvenile, or occur in the adult years. It is thought to be demyelinative, but the pathogenesis is ill-defined. We report a 24-year-old woman with juvenile-onset Alexander disease, of 12 years duration, who underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) serially as part of her care. The patient's latest MRI showed periventricular-increased signal intensity on T2 and fluid attenuation and inversion recovery sequences, which appeared stable when compared to her first study seven years ago. MRS revealed an elevated choline/creatine ratio with relative suppression of the n-acetyl aspartate peak, also similar to her previous MRS findings. MRS also showed elevation of myoinositol levels, best demonstrated with the short echo-time spectra. These findings support the primarily demyelinative characteristics of this leukodystrophy and may provide a surrogate marker of disease progression, as well as a potential response to therapeutic intervention when this becomes available.

Sarcoidosis of the thyroid gland and spinal canal: unique localizations.

Sarcoid involvement of the thyroid gland and spinal canal are rare individual manifestations of sarcoidosis. In this article, we will describe two concurrent cases of spinal canal and thyroid sarcoid involvement. Diagnostic criteria usually include histologic identification of a non-caseating granuloma, supportive laboratory or imaging tests or both, and a compatible clinical course. Our goal is to discuss the presentations and clinical manifestations of our patients, and we will also review the literature involving sarcoid involvement of the spinal canal and thyroid. Although rare, atypical locations of sarcoid should remain suspected for those patients known to have sarcoid involvement in other organ(s) or found to have granulomatous involvement on pathology.