Anatomical variations of pulmonary venous drainage in Thai people: multidetector CT study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the patterns of pulmonary venous drainage into the left atrium and to determine the frequency of each variant of pulmonary venous anatomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: After institutional review board approval (No. 09JUL011148), 300 studies of thoracic multidetector computed tomography were retrospectively reviewed for the anatomical features of the pulmonary vein and its drainage pattern into the left atrium. The percentage of each pattern was calculated. RESULTS: The anatomy of pulmonary venous drainage in 300 patients (150 male and 150 female, mean age 60.16 years) showed some variation. In the right pulmonary vein, the most common drainage pattern was two ostia (90.33%), followed by three to five ostia (6.33%) and a single ostium (3.33%). There were one or two separate middle lobe vein ostia in groups of more than two openings. On the left side, there were two patterns; a single venous ostium (59%) was much more common than two ostia (41%). In both right and left pulmonary veins, there were five cases (2 male, 3 female) that had a single pulmonary venous ostium, bilaterally. However, there were only 17 cases (5.67%), out of 300 enrolled in this study, that had bilateral pulmonary venous ostial variations. CONCLUSION: A classification system to succinctly describe pulmonary venous drainage patterns was developed. In left-sided drainage, a single left pulmonary ostium was the most common variation. The right-sided venous drainage varied more in both number and pattern than those of the left side; nevertheless, bilateral pulmonary venous ostial variation was not frequently found.

Spectrum of imaging findings in melioidosis.

This pictorial review aims to highlight the clinical and imaging features of melioidosis in various organ systems. The patients were from two centres: one in Thailand and one in Singapore. The annual average incidence of melioidosis is estimated to be 4.4 in 100 000 in north-eastern Thailand and 1.7 in 100 000 in Singapore. Melioidosis affects many different organs and produces a spectrum of imaging features. The lung is the most frequently involved organ and, on radiographs and computed tomography, melioidosis may manifest as acute pulmonary consolidation, multiple nodules and abscesses. The finding of multiple small discrete abscesses in both the liver and the spleen is highly suggestive of visceral melioidosis and is best diagnosed on ultrasonography and computed tomography. Bone and soft tissue musculoskeletal involvement is usually part of disseminated melioidosis, with changes being seen on radiographs and MRI. Although imaging findings of melioidosis are not specific, this infection requires a high index of clinical suspicion, particularly in patients with pre-disposing comorbidities, such as diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, alcoholism or malignancy, those who are immunosuppressed as the result of either diseases or drug treatment, and those living in or with a history of travel to endemic areas.

Clinics in diagnostic imaging (86). Ruptured bronchogenic cyst.

An eight-year-old boy presented with a sudden onset of chest pain. He had been diagnosed to have a left spontaneous pneumothorax. Chest radiographs and computed tomography of the chest showed a thin-walled cyst in the left lower lobe. Thoracotomy and a segmentectomy of the apical segment of the lower lobe was performed, confirming the diagnosis of a ruptured bronchogenic cyst. Imaging findings of various pulmonary cystic lesions in children are discussed.