Diagnostic imaging of hepatic tuberculosis: case series.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic tuberculosis (TB) shows non-specific symptoms, and liver imaging may provide diagnostic clues. Here we describe a series of patients with hepatic TB showing characteristic radiological findings. METHODS: Single-centre retrospective evaluation of patients with hepatic TB diagnosed over a period of 16 years who underwent ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Hepatic lesions were classified as miliary, nodular, serohepatic or cholangitis. RESULTS: Of 14 patients with hepatic TB, five were co-infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. All patients had additional extrahepatic TB localisations. An interferon-gamma release assay was performed in 11/14 patients, ultrasound and CT were available for all patients and MRI for four. Observed patterns were miliary (n = 6) with multiple nodules < 2 cm; nodular (n = 5), characterised by a variable number of nodules (2-7 cm); and serohepatic (n = 3), with multiple nodular subcapsular lesions with a thin, smooth wall. Shared findings were hypoechoic lesions on ultrasound, hypodense lesions with ring enhancement on CT, while MRI lesions were hypointense on T1- and hyperintense on T2-weighted images. CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound, CT and MRI can independently contribute to detection of hepatic TB. While a miliary pattern or calcifications are characteristic, no pattern is completely pathognomonic and the diagnosis depends on microbiological evidence. Particularly in risk groups, characteristic radiological findings may prompt targeted diagnostic work-up.

Appropriateness: analysis of outpatient radiology requests.

PURPOSE: This study assessed radiology requests and the influence of previous radiological procedures on their specificity and appropriateness, evaluated diagnostic outcomes and recorded the economic impact of inappropriate examinations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We prospectively analysed 4,018 outpatient requests, the appropriateness of which was assessed using an evaluation form. Economic analysis was based on costs listed in the Italian National Health Services (NHS) national tariff as established by the Ministerial Decree of 22 July 1996. Statistical analysis was carried out using Pearson's test and univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS: Of 4,018 outpatient requests, 57% were not included in a follow-up protocol and 56% were found to be appropriate. The diagnostic question was confirmed in 66% of cases considered appropriate (p<0.001). The existence of previous investigations had a significant impact on appropriateness and diagnostic outcome (p<0.001). The total cost of the requests was 257,317 euro, with inappropriate requests accounting for 94,012 euro (36.5%). CONCLUSIONS: We found a 56% rate of appropriate requests and demonstrated that appropriate prescriptions provided with a specific clinical question led to significantly higher confirmation rates of the diagnostic hypothesis. In addition, inappropriate requests had a major negative economic impact.

Ultrasonography in lesions of the carotid vessels in HIV positive patients.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated with ultrasonography (US) the presence of epiaortic vessel lesions in HIV-positive individuals receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) and compared them with naïve patients and healthy individuals to highlight the differences among the different vascular damage patterns. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 222 HIV-infected patients receiving HAART, 64 HIV-infected patients naïve to antiretroviral therapy and 135 HIV-negative control patients underwent US of the carotid vessels. The morphological examination included grey-scale and colour and power Doppler imaging to better characterise lesions and intima media thickness. An automated computerised software package (Q LAB) was used to determine intima media thickness values. Independent risk factors for the development of carotid lesions and, in particular, cholesterolaemia and triglyceridaemia were considered. Atherosclerotic plaques and inflammatory-type lesions were reported. Statistical analysis included the chi-square test, the Fisher exact test for qualitative variables and the Kruskal-Wallis test to compare continuous variables. RESULTS: We observed a higher prevalence of carotid lesions in HIV-positive patients receiving HAART compared with HIV-positive naïve patients (p<0.0000001) and HIV-negative patients (p<0.0001). Findings consistent with inflammatory-type lesions rather than classic atheroma were depicted only in five patients receiving HAART (0.02%). CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms a higher prevalence of carotid lesions in HAART-treated HIV patients. In agreement with other authors, we identified carotid lesions that were consistent with arteritis rather than with classic atheroma, but the percentage was too small to suggest any robust hypothesis. Further studies are warranted to define the mechanism of onset of carotid lesions in HIV-positive individuals.

Radiological findings of pneumonia in patients with swine-origin influenza A virus (H1N1).

PURPOSE: During spring 2009, a pandemic swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus (S-OIV) emerged and spread globally. We describe the chest X-ray and computed tomography (CT) findings of 40 patients with pneumonia due to S-OIV observed in our institution. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Among 534 patients with S-OIV, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case definition, seen between June and November 2009, 121 underwent chest X-ray and 40 (median age 44 years, range 16-79) had pneumonia. The initial chest radiographs were evaluated for pattern, distribution and extent of lung abnormalities. Unenhanced chest CT scans were performed in two patients and were reviewed for the same findings. Underlying medical conditions were present in 42% of patients (17/40). RESULTS: Our patients had predominantly mild illness, and pneumonia was observed in 40 individuals (40/121 patients who had chest X-rays, 33%; and 40/534 patients with S-OIV, 7.5%). However, S-OIV can cause severe illness requiring admission to the intensive care unit for advanced mechanical ventilation and extracorporeal life support, including adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and death. The major radiological abnormalities observed were interstitial changes (60.0%), with (22.0%) or without patchy ground-glass appearance, mostly bilateral, and located in the lower lung zones (7.5%). Extensive disease was seen in 37.5% (15/40), and ARDS was observed in three individuals (0.30%)with underlying medical conditions. Subtle pleural effusion was noted in four patients. CONCLUSIONS: In our series, the most frequent pneumonia patterns observed during S-OIV (H1N1) virus were interstitial changes and patchy ground-glass appearance, mostly bilateral, and located in the lower lung zones. CT, performed in severely ill patients, confirmed the ARDS identified with chest X-rays, better depicting the features and extent of lung abnormalities.

Hygiene precautions and the transmission of infections in radiology.

Healthcare-associated infections are a critical challenge for the public health sector. Most are acquired through contact, predominantly with the hands of health care personnel. Hand hygiene, therefore, is the single most effective measure for preventing and controlling infectious diseases. Recently, cases of acute hepatitis C occurred in patients who had undergone contrast-enhanced computed tomography. This was probably related to inadequate handling by health care staff. Rigorous compliance with standard precautions is therefore compulsory even in radiology, a setting traditionally considered at low risk for the transmission of pathogens. Adherence to standard precautions is still poor and the persistence of inappropriate practices responsible for preventable incidents is very common in radiology, often owing to underestimation of risk. Radiology units must promote compliance with correct hand hygiene through appropriate education programmes and provision of adequate areas and hand hygiene products. The evidence base to support the use of alcohol-based hand rub is demonstrating that these formulations are effective in improving hand hygiene compliance and preventing infections.

HIV-related bronchopulmonary infection by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the HAART era: radiological findings.

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) modifies radiographic appearances of Pseudomonas aeruginosa bronchopulmonary infection in HIV-infected patients. P. aeruginosa is increasingly reported as a respiratory pathogen in HIV+ patients with very low levels of CD4 lymphocytes. Few studies have analyzed the radiological presentation of bronchopulmonary disease that occurs in HAART-treated patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the chest radiographs of 46 HIV-infected patients with bronchopulmonary diseases in which P. aeruginosa was the sole respiratory pathogen that was isolated. All cases were community-acquired infection. Twenty-four of the patients were on HAART treatment, and 22 were not. Chest radiographs were assessed for the presence and distribution of parenchymal consolidation, reticular or reticulonodular infiltrates, bronchial wall thickening, ground-glass opacities, cavitation, pleural effusion, and adenopathies. Statistical analysis was done using Epi-Info version 6 (CDC, Atlanta, GA, USA). RESULTS: Normal chest radiographs were observed in 11 patients. Eight of these 11 (73%) were receiving HAART, and 3/11 (27%) were not. The most common radiographic abnormality was bronchopneumonia, present in 24 of 46 patients (52%): in 10 of 24 (42%) patients with HAART and 14 of 22 (64%) without. Cavitation was seen in 1 of 24 (4%) patients with HAART and in 5 of 22 (23%) without HAART. CONCLUSION: Cavitation was more frequent in patients that were not receiving HAART, and normal chest radiographs were more frequently seen in patients on HAART.

Accuracy of an immune diagnostic assay based on RD1 selected epitopes for active tuberculosis in a clinical setting: a pilot study.

A previous case-control study reported that an in-vitro interferon (IFN)-gamma response to early secreted antigenic target (ESAT)-6 selected peptides was associated with active tuberculosis (A-TB). The objective of the present pilot study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of this assay for TB disease in a clinical setting. An IFN-gamma ELISPOT assay was performed on samples from patients with suspected A-TB using two peptides selected from ESAT-6 protein and three peptides selected from culture filtrate 10 (CFP-10) proteins. The results were compared with those obtained by two commercially available assays approved for diagnosis of TB infection (T SPOT-TB and QuantiFERON-TB Gold) which use ESAT-6/CFP-10 (RD1) overlapping peptides. Sensitivity to the RD1 selected peptides was 70% (positive for 16 of 23 patients with microbiologically diagnosed A-TB) and specificity was 91% (positive for three of 32 controls). In contrast, the sensitivity and specificity were 91% and 59%, respectively, for T SPOT-TB, and were 83% and 59%, respectively, for QuantiFERON-TB Gold. The RD1 selected peptides assay had the highest diagnostic odds ratio for A-TB. Thus, the results suggest that an assay based on RD1 selected peptides has a higher diagnostic accuracy for A-TB in a clinical setting compared with commercially available assays based on RD1 overlapping peptides.

Radiological patterns in HIV-associated pulmonary tuberculosis: comparison between HAART-treated and non-HAART-treated patients.

AIM: To evaluate whether highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) modifies radiographic appearances of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB), in terms of patterns and their relative frequencies, among patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Chest radiographs were obtained in 209 HIV-infected patients with culture confirmed pulmonary TB. Computed tomography (CT) images were also reviewed for 42 patients whose chest radiographs were normal or showed questionable abnormalities. Imaging was evaluated for the presence and distribution of consolidation, cavitation, interstitial changes, pleural disease, adenopathy, and were classified as a primary or post-primary pattern. RESULTS: A post-primary pattern was more frequent after 1996 when HAART came into clinical use. Forty-four percent (77/176) of patients not on HAART had a post-primary pattern in comparison with 82% (27/33) of patients receiving HAART (p<0.001). A primary pattern was significantly more frequent (p<0.001), in patients with more severe immunosuppression (CD4 lymphocyte less than 200/mm(3)). CONCLUSION: HIV patients receiving HAART with pulmonary TB, had a post-primary pattern more frequently than those not receiving this treatment. This observation is consistent with the partial restoration of cell-mediated immunity that can be induced by HAART.

Abdominal tuberculosis mimicking Crohn's disease: a difficult diagnosis. Report of a case.

Abdominal involvement by tuberculosis as first site of disease is comparatively rare in industrialized countries. The emergence of new groups of patients at risk arouse a particular and due interest. This report describes a case of abdominal tuberculosis with a first diagnosis of Crohn's disease in an immigrant girl from Peru. The diagnosis can be difficult because extrapulmonary tuberculosis is often paucibacillary and the disease may mimic a variety of gastrointestinal disorders.

Infectious spondylodiscitis: magnetic resonance imaging in HIV-infected and HIV-uninfected patients.

OBJECTIVE: We retrospectively reviewed 21 infections of the spine to correlate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with etiology of spondylodiscitis according to HIV status. CONCLUSION: MRI allowed the differentiation between tuberculous and pyogenic spondylodiscitis in the chronic stage. Typical findings were not observed in HIV+ as compared with HIV- patients, either concerning etiology or characteristic features of the spondylodiscitis.

Non-hodgkin's lymphoma of the liver in patients with AIDS: sonographic, CT, and MRI findings.

PURPOSE: We analyzed the sonographic, CT, and MRI findings in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of the liver to evaluate the role of sonography in the diagnosis of this disease. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed sonograms and CT scans on 26 patients who had human immunodeficiency virus with liver lymphoma, either primary (10 cases) or secondary (16 cases), from 1992 to 1999. We also reviewed MR images on 12 of the patients. All patients had pathologically proven NHL; all imaging studies were obtained within 2 weeks of sonographically guided fine-needle aspiration biopsies. Lymphoma was the initial AIDS-defining illness in 38% of the patients. RESULTS: NHL occurred as multiple lesions in most cases of both primary (7 of 10 cases) and secondary (15 of 16 cases) liver lymphoma. No imaging finding was specific for the diagnosis of hepatic lymphoma. The hepatic lesions were hypoechoic in 25 of 26 cases; in the remaining case, there was a large isoechoic mass. On unenhanced and contrast-enhanced CT, the lesions were hypodense in all cases, with a thin enhancing rim in 6 patients. On MRI, the lesions were hypointense on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images. CONCLUSIONS: Sonography may be helpful in the diagnosis of focal hepatic lymphoma in patients with human immunodeficiency virus. Sonographically guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy provides a definitive diagnosis. CT was crucial in the staging of lymphoma. MRI appears appropriate for studying liver NHL in selected cases.

Pulmonary mycosis in AIDS.

We retrospectively reviewed our series of 35 pulmonary mycosis in patients with AIDS, observed from 1987 to 1999, to correlate the imaging and pathologic findings. We further evaluated the frequency of fungal pneumonia before and after the use of a highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Early recognition of pulmonary mycosis is imperative in these patients and improved survival can be achieved with early CT detection and prompt institution of high-dose antifungal therapy.

US and CT findings in splenic focal lesions in AIDS.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of US and CT in focal splenic lesions in AIDS patients in relation to etiology. MATERIAL AND METHODS; A total of 66 patients with AIDS and focal splenic lesions were examined with sonography. CT with administration of contrast medium was performed in 12 cases. RESULTS: Of the focal splenic lesions, 67% were correlated with an infective pathology with prevalence of Mycobacteria tuberculosis (75%), 26% were neoplastic and 6% splenic infarcts. The lesions were hypoechoic in 60% of the cases, while 10% were hypoanechoic and 1% anechoic. At CT, all lesions appeared hypodense, even after i.v. administration of contrast medium. CONCLUSION: The combination of echographic reports and clinical and laboratory data allows for a diagnosis that can be confirmed, and making a decision for effective therapy of AIDS is possible. CT does not provide any additional information.

[Diagnostic imaging in AIDS-related pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma]. / Diagnostica per immagini del sarcoma di Kaposi polmonare nell'AIDS.

INTRODUCTION: Kaposi's sarcoma is an uncommon multifocal angiogenic lesion but the most frequent tumor (15%) in HIV+ patients: it is found in homosexual HIV+ men in 95% of cases and appears as cutaneous-mucous lesions in most patients; the respiratory system is involved in 20% of cases. We investigated the yield of conventional radiography, CT and HRCT in the diagnostic imaging of pulmonary Kaposi's sarcoma. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the findings of 205 patients with cutaneous Kaposi's sarcoma. Chest radiography (two projections) had been performed in all of them, chest CT in 23, HRCT in 7, and tracheobronchial endoscopy in 20. RESULTS: The respiratory system was involved in 22% of the patients with cutaneous-mucous Kaposi's sarcoma. The pulmonary pattern was perivasculobronchial interstitial thickening with bilateral and symmetrical ilifugal involvement in 78% of cases, associated with multiple perivascular nodular opacities (< 1 cm) in 19 patients. Pleural effusion was seen in 52% of cases, while 3 patients had plaque thickening of visceral pleura; mediastinal adenopathy was found in 8.6% of cases. Endoscopy detected 14 tracheobronchial Kaposi's lesions. Kaposi's involvement of the respiratory system was confirmed histologically in 26 autopsy cases. CONCLUSIONS: In our experience, conventional radiology and clinical-history data permit to evaluate early pleuropulmonary involvement of Kaposi's sarcoma and to follow its evolution. CT and HRCT unquestionably detect the typical signs earlier than conventional radiology and yield further information on disease extent.

[Benign lymphoproliferative lesions of the parotid gland in HIV infection]. / Lesioni linfoproliferative benigne della parotide nelle infezioni da HIV.

The authors investigated the role of ultrasonography (US) as the method of choice in diagnosing parotid lesions in HIV+ patients. Bilateral parotid gland enlargement associated with laterocervical lymph node enlargement is a sign of HIV infection. This pathologic condition is observed in 2-10% of seropositive patients. Histology demonstrates benign lymphoproliferative lesions referrable to immune system activation. Our series consisted of 37 HIV+ patients monitored with US for a year, all patients had cytologic confirmation of their disease, with needle biopsy in 9 patients and with MR studies in 4 patients. US showed focal solid lesions, with cystic and mixed appearance in the 26 adult subjects and gross parenchymal inhomogeneity in the 11 children; laterocervical lymph node enlargement was associated in 31 cases. In the only two cases with unilateral parotid involvement, an abscess and a lymphoma were diagnosed. To conclude, US findings in HIV+ patients, although aspecific, can help make the correct diagnosis, if they are integrated with the patient's history and clinical findings.

[Ultrasound aspects in AIDS-related splenic diseases]. / Aspetti ecografici delle splenopatie nell'AIDS.

The authors reviewed retrospectively 139 splenopathies detected during 432 US examinations of the abdomen in AIDS patients to assess the role of US in correlation with anamnestic-clinical data and histologic findings in 45 cases. Splenomegaly was the main sign of abnormal splenic conditions, since it was present in all the examined patients. Twenty-one cases exhibited focal lesions. Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas were the only kind of neoplastic condition, which were detected in 15% of cases. In 57% of cases splenopathy was correlated with an infective agent, with a marked prevalence of Mycobacteria-i.e., tubercular in 26% and atypical in 22%. In the splenopathies with histologic confirmation which exhibited a focal US pattern (47%), US proved to be useful in assessing splenic involvement, however aspecific its signs, and in its monitoring, especially in the lesions with unexpected colliquative evolution, as in two cases of atypical mycobacteriosis.

[Lung infections in acquired immunodeficiency. Clinico-radiologic correlations]. / Le infezioni polmonari nei difetti acquisiti della immunità. Correlazioni clinico-radiologiche.

Over the last decade the number of subjects with acquired immunodeficiencies has markedly increased; this phenomenon depends on both the large number of patients receiving organ transplants or antiblastic therapy and the spread of infections caused by the HIV virus. In 70-90% of these patients primary diseases include different pulmonary infections, relative to the type and degree of immune compromission. Pathogenic or, in most cases, opportunistic germs are responsible for severe pneumonia whose mortality rate can top 50%. Since prognosis depends on the promptness of treatment, the diagnosis of nature must be made quickly by integrating clinical and diagnostic findings with laboratory and instrumental results. Conventional chest radiology plays a major role as the first step in a diagnostic iter which can now include rather sensitive techniques--e.g., equalized chest films. CT and nuclear medicine often represent the necessary diagnostic complements but, in some cases, etiology can be diagnosed only with such invasive procedures as lung biopsy. The authors reviewed the current data on the diagnostic imaging findings of pulmonary infections caused by common germs, by Pneumocystis carinii mycobacteria, mycetes and viruses in immunocompromised patients, integrating their personal experience with literature data.