Sonography of the chest using linear-array versus sector transducers: Correlation with auscultation, chest radiography, and computed tomography.

PURPOSE: The primary purpose of our study was to compare the efficacies of two sonographic (US) probes, a high-frequency linear-array probe and a lower-frequency phased-array sector probe in the diagnosis of basic thoracic pathologies. The secondary purpose was to compare the diagnostic performance of thoracic US with auscultation and chest radiography (CXR) using thoracic CT as a gold standard. METHODS: In total, 55 consecutive patients scheduled for thoracic CT were enrolled in this prospective study. Four pathologic entities were evaluated: pneumothorax, pleural effusion, consolidation, and interstitial syndrome. A portable US scanner was used with a 5-10-MHz linear-array probe and a 1-5-MHz phased-array sector probe. The first probe used was chosen randomly. US, CXR, and auscultation results were compared with the CT results. RESULTS: The linear-array probe had the highest performance in the identification of pneumothorax (83% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and 99% diagnostic accuracy) and pleural effusion (100% sensitivity, 97% specificity, and 98% diagnostic accuracy); the sector probe had the highest performance in the identification of consolidation (89% sensitivity, 100% specificity, and 95% diagnostic accuracy) and interstitial syndrome (94% sensitivity, 93% specificity, and 94% diagnostic accuracy). For all pathologies, the performance of US was superior to those of CXR and auscultation. CONCLUSIONS: The linear probe is superior to the sector probe for identifying pleural pathologies, whereas the sector probe is superior to the linear probe for identifying parenchymal pathologies. Thoracic US has better diagnostic performance than CXR and auscultation for the diagnosis of common pathologic conditions of the chest. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 44:383-389, 2016.

Vitreous humor diffusion measurements from diffusionweighted imaging in idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a disease with uncertain etiology. It is not caused by an intracranial mass lesion or hydrocephalus and is characterized by abnormal elevation of intracranial pressure and normal composition of the cerebrospinal fluid. The orbita and intracranial area are closely related anatomically. Elevated intracranial pressure can be transmitted to the orbita through the cerebrospinal fluid around the optic nerve sheath changes at the vitreous humor on diffusion-weighted imaging have not been systemically studied in idiopathic intracranial hypertension. Purpose - The purpose of this study was to investigate diffusion changes in the vitreous humor in patients with intracranial hypertension. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 25 patients with papilledema and who had been definitively diagnosed with idiopathic intracranial hypertension and 20 control participants were evaluated. Control subjects and patients were scanned with a 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Apparent diffusion coefficient maps were obtained from diffusion-weighted imaging with a b value of 1000 s/mm2 and apparent diffusion coefficient values were automatically calculated. These images were obtained by a radiologist who was blinded to the details of the study for center of each vitreous humor and the body of lateral ventricle. The mean apparent diffusion coefficient values of each vitreous humor and the body of the lateral ventricle were calculated for each group (control group and patients) and quantitative comparisons were performed. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in mean apparent diffusion coefficient values of the right vitreous humor, left vitreous humor and the body of the lateral ventricle between the patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension and the control group (p=0.766, p=0.864, p=0.576, respectively). CONCLUSION: Vitreous humor is a closed system and has no direct relationship with the cerebrospinal fluid or cerebral tissue and although morphological changes occur in the orbital structures, including the optic disk and optic nerve in idiopathic intracranial hypertension, the indirect effects of these changes on the vitreous humor may be too subtle to measure. Conclusion - We did not find a significant difference in the mean apparent diffusion coefficient value of the vitreous humor between the patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension and the control group. However, future studies will be necessary to determine if changes in the vitreous humor can be used to diagnose intracranial hypertension.

Fibroblast Growth Factor-23 and Carotid Artery Intima Media Thickness in Chronic Kidney Disease.

BACKGROUND: The cause of early-accelerated atherosclerosis development observed in Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is not fully understood. The determination of the relationship between the levels of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) and the development of endothelial dysfunction, left ventricular hypertrophy, and myocardial infarction lends support to the possibility that FGF-23 plays a role in the development of atherosclerosis in CKD. Only a few studies, however, have been conducted that analyze the relationship between FGF-23 levels in the progression of CKD and the development of atherosclerosis, and these studies have generally been limited to those patients receiving dialysis therapy due to end stage renal disease (ESRD). METHODS: In the present study, carotid artery intima-media thicknesses (IMT) were measured ultrasonically as a marker of atherosclerosis in 91 patients with CKD stage 3 - 4 (61 female and 30 male, age between 19 - 65 years, glomerular filtration rate [GFR] 15 - 60 mL/min 1.73 m2, CKD was not related to diabetes mellitus, and without cardiovascular-cerebral disease) in contrast to 36 healthy volunteers (26 female and 10 male, age between 19 - 65 years, GFR > 90 mL/min 1.73 m2, and without any diagnoses of acute or chronic disease), and a possible role of FGF-23 on atherosclerosis was analyzed. RESULTS: Patients were similar to controls with respect to age, gender, smoking status, body mass index, and plasma glucose and lipid profile. On the other hand, IMT measurements (p < 0.00001) and FGF-23 levels (p = 0.00012) were significantly higher in patients than controls. IMT was measured above the subclinical atherosclerosis limit of 0.750 mm in 54% of the patients. Multivariate regression analysis showed that patients' age, high sensitive c-reactive protein (hsCRP), and FGF-23 levels were independent predictors of IMT (p < 0.00001, r = 0.559). Independent of other variables, every 1 µmol/L increase in FGF-23 levels resulted in 0.444 mm increase of IMT measurements in patients with CKD. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that monitoring serum FGF-23 may be useful as a non-invasive indicator of subclinical atherosclerosis in patients with chronic kidney disease.