Imaging diagnosis analysis and literature review of intrapulmonary solitary fibrous tumor.

Background: Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) of the chest mainly arises from the pleura, but intrapulmonary SFT is rare. This study aimed to review and discuss the chest multislice computed tomography (MSCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of intrapulmonary SFT and summarize existing literature on the disease in order to improve clinicians' understanding and diagnosis of this disease. Methods: The imaging findings and clinical data of 4 surgically and pathologically confirmed intrapulmonary SFT cases were retrospectively analyzed in terms of location, morphology, size, density, border, enhancement level of the lesion, and its relationship with surrounding tissue. These findings were combined with a review of 61 cases reported in the literature to characterize the features of intrapulmonary SFT. Results: A total of 65 patients with intrapulmonary SFT were reviewed, consisting of 30 females and 35 males. Of these cases, 21 had a lesion in the left lower lobe, more than in any other part of the lungs. The lesions were clear, had a quasicircular boundary, and were distinctly separated from surrounding tissue. Under plain scan, the 4 cases investigated in this study showed lesions of even density, and enhanced scanning revealed geographic enhancement in 2 cases. Of the 65 cases examined, 56 cases were benign, and the remaining 9 cases were borderline or malignant. Conclusions: The imaging findings of intrapulmonary SFT demonstrated certain features, such as lesions with a clear boundary and even density. Imaging examination is important for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of this disease.

MSCT findings of primary Pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

OBJECTIVES: To improve diagnostic accuracy of pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma (PMEC) through multi-detector computed tomography (MSCT) findings. METHODS: MSCT findings of 27 histopathologically confirmed PMEC cases were retrospectively analyzed, including the location, size, margin, density, enhancement of the lesion and accompanying signs. RESULTS: Among the 27 PMEC cases, 6 (6/27, 22.2%) were the large airway pattern, 14 were (14/27, 51.9%) the pulmonary hilum pattern, and 7 (7/27, 26.9%) were the peripheral pattern. Among those 20 cases with central pattern(6 large airway and 14 pulmonary hilum patterns), 6 presented mild enhancement, 4 moderate enhancement, 5 severe enhancement, 5 heterogeneous enhancement, and 3 with calcification. 7 cases with peripheral patterns were presented as solid pulmonary nodules and masses, 3 with severe enhancement, 1 with moderate enhancement and 3 with mild enhancement. Four cases accompanied by lymph nodal metastasis, and 7 cases with distant organ metastasis. Age(t = -3.132, p = 0.005), enlarged lymph node (x2 = 9.281, p = 0.005), and distant metastasis(x2 = 7.816, p = 0.008) were statistically significant in the low-grade group and high-grade group. CONCLUSIONS: MSCT images of PMEC patients demonstrated some characteristic findings, which would help improve the diagnostic accuracy of the disease.

[Imaging and Clinical Characteristics of Primary Pulmonary Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma].

Objective To improve the understanding and diagnostic accuracy of pulmonary mucoepidermoid carcinoma(PMEC) by analyzing the imaging and clinical characteristics.Methods The clinical and CT data of 27 cases of PMEC confirmed by histopathology in the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2016 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed,including the location,size,margin,density,enhancement characteristics,accompanying signs,and pathological grade.Results The 27 cases included 6(6/27,22.2%) of large airway type,14(14/27,51.9%) of hilar type,and 7(7/27,26.9%) of peripheral type.The CT manifestations of 20 cases of large airway and hilar PMEC were soft-tissue nodules or mass with clear boundary in the lumen of the trachea and main bronchi,including 6 cases of mild enhancement,4 cases of moderate enhancement,5 cases of marked enhancement,and 5 cases of uneven enhancement.Three of the 20 cases showed calcification.The 7 cases of peripheral PMEC showed soft-tissue nodules or masses in the lungs,including 3 cases of mild enhancement,1 case of moderate enhancement,and 3 cases of marked enhancement. Obstructive pneumonia or atelectasis and bronchiectasis with mucus plug formation occurred in 16(16/27,59.3%) cases,lymph node metastasis in 9(9/27,33.3%) cases,and multiple organ metastasis in 8(8/27,29.6%) cases.Age(t=-3.132,P=0.005),enlarged lymph node (χ2=9.281,P=0.003),and distant metastasis(χ2=7.816,P=0.008) were statistically significant in the low-grade group and high-grade group. Conclusion PMEC have some unique imaging features,and recognizing these signs is conducive to the differential diagnosis and the improvement of the diagnostic accuracy.

Correlation with Spectral CT Imaging Parameters and Occult Lymph Nodes Metastases in Sufferers with Isolated Lung Adenocarcinoma.

For investigating the correlation with spectral CT imaging parameters and occult lymph nodes metastasis in sufferers with isolated lung adenocarcinoma. The clinic cases data of 352 sufferers with isolated lung adenocarcinoma from January 2019 to January 2022 were assembled. In line with whether the sufferers had occult lymph nodes metastasis, they were taken as a part in the metastasis group (n = 172) and the nonmetastasis group. All sufferers were scanned by spectral CT with a dual-phase contrast-enhanced method, and the recording of spectral CT imaging parameters in arteriovenous phase, iodine concentration (IC), water concentration (WC), the slope rate of the spectral HU curve (λHU), the normalized iodine concentration(NIC), the normalized water concentration(NWC), the normalized effective atomic number (Neff-Z)], and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) were employed to analyze the spectral CT imaging parameters of the arteriovenous phase. Evaluation of occult lymph nodes metastases in sufferers with isolated lung adenocarcinoma. The IC, NIC, λHU, and Neff-Z in the arteriovenous phase spectral CT imaging parameters of the metastasis group were obviously smaller than that of the nonmetastasis group, and the discrepancies were statistically obvious (P < 0.05). The results of ROC curve analysis manifested that the area under the curve (AUC) of λHU, IC, NIC, and Neff-Z in the CT parameters of the arterial phase were 0. 840 (95%CI : 0. 796-0.883), 0.763 (95% CI : 0.708-0.818), 0.918 (95% CI : 0.888-0.948), 0.778 (95% CI : 0.731-0.826). The AUCs of λHU, IC, NIC, and Neff-Z in the venous phase spectral CT parameters were 0.909 (95% CI : 0.877-0.941), 0.837 (95% CI : 0.792-0.881), and 0.980 (95% CI : 0.968-0.968), respectively. 0.993), 0.792 (95% CI : 0.742∼0.842). Spectral CT imaging parameters have a certain value in evaluating occult lymph nodes metastasis in sufferers with isolated lung adenocarcinoma, which is helpful for doctors to judge the lymph nodes metastasis in sufferers with this disease before surgery.

Assisting scalable diagnosis automatically via CT images in the combat against COVID-19.

The pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is causing enormous loss of life globally. Prompt case identification is critical. The reference method is the real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) assay, whose limitations may curb its prompt large-scale application. COVID-19 manifests with chest computed tomography (CT) abnormalities, some even before the onset of symptoms. We tested the hypothesis that the application of deep learning (DL) to 3D CT images could help identify COVID-19 infections. Using data from 920 COVID-19 and 1,073 non-COVID-19 pneumonia patients, we developed a modified DenseNet-264 model, COVIDNet, to classify CT images to either class. When tested on an independent set of 233 COVID-19 and 289 non-COVID-19 pneumonia patients, COVIDNet achieved an accuracy rate of 94.3% and an area under the curve of 0.98. As of March 23, 2020, the COVIDNet system had been used 11,966 times with a sensitivity of 91.12% and a specificity of 88.50% in six hospitals with PCR confirmation. Application of DL to CT images may improve both efficiency and capacity of case detection and long-term surveillance.

[A clinical analysis of 40 cases of primary and secondary pulmonary lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical manifestations, pathological types, treatment and prognosis of primary pulmonary lymphoma (PPL) and secondary pulmonary lymphoma (SPL). METHODS: The clinical data of 40 cases of PPL or SPL diagnosed from 2003 to 2013 in the Chinese PLA General Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. All cases were diagnosed via lung biopsy or surgical biopsy. RESULTS: There were 24 male and 16 female patients, aging from 15 to 84 years, including 10 patients with PPL and 30 with SPL. The main clinical manifestations of PPL were cough and chest pain, but 4 patients were asymptomatic. Chest CT showed lung mass in 8 patients and patchy opacities in 3. ¹8F-FDG PET/CT showed that the SUV(max) of lung lesions was 3.96-6.70 with a median value of 4.50. The pathological types of all PPL cases were non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), and 4 patients were treated with surgery combined with chemotherapy, and 3 patients were treated with surgery alone. The main clinical manifestations of SPL were cough, superficial lymph node enlargement and fever, but 8 patients were asymptomatic. The chest CT revealed pleural effusions in 20, mediastinal and hilar lymph node enlargement in 14, patch opacities in 13 and multiple nodules in 6 patients. In addition to pulmonary involvement, PET/CT examination confirmed that cervical lymph nodes, thyroid, stomach and pancreas were also involved. The SUV(max) was from 2.40 to 19.60, with a median value of 5.70. Twenty-one cases of SPL were NHL and 9 were Hodgkin lymphomas (HL). Of these patients with SPL, 14 were treated with chemotherapy alone, 8 chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy, and 2 surgery combined with chemotherapy. The one-year survival rate of PPL was 100%, compared with 93.3% of SPL. The shortest survival time of PPL was 13 months, compared with 2 months of SPL. CONCLUSIONS: There were differences in the radiological features, pathological types and treatment between PPL and SPL. The chest CT manifestations of PPL were mainly lung masses, while those of SPL were mainly pleural involvement and mediastinal and hilar lymph node enlargement. The pathological type of PPL was all NHL while that of 9 cases of SPL was HL. Patients with PPL were mainly treated with surgical therapy, but SPL mainly with chemotherapy. PET/CT examination may be helpful for the diagnosis and staging of lung lymphoma. Since the misdiagnosis rate of pulmonary lymphoma was high, diagnosis must rely on lung tissue biopsy and immunohistochemistry. Compared with PPL, the prognosis of SPL is poorer.

Effectiveness of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the classification and emergency management of abdominal trauma.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the correlation between contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS)-based classification of the severity of abdominal parenchymal organ trauma and clinical outcomes, and to explore CEUS in classifying patients with such trauma, expecting that the use of CEUS will potentially enhance the quality and speed of the emergency management of abdominal trauma. METHODS: Three hundred six consecutive patients with blunt abdominal parenchymal organ trauma who received CEUS examination were retrospectively analysed. Two CEUS radiologists (identified as Reader A and Reader B in this study) who were not involved in the CEUS examinations of the patients were then asked to classify the patients independently according to their CEUS results. The classification results were later compared with patients' clinical outcomes using Spearman's rank correlation. RESULTS: The final clinical outcomes showed that 25.5 % (78/306) of patients received conservative treatment, 52.0 % (159/306) received minimally invasive treatment, and 22.5 % (69/306) received surgery. Spearman's rank correlation coefficients between the CEUS-based classification and clinical outcome were 0.952 from Reader A and 0.960 from Reader B. CONCLUSIONS: CEUS can play an important role in the emergency management of abdominal trauma through the classification of patients for different treatment methods. KEY POINTS: • The severity of abdominal trauma was classified by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) • There was a high correlation between CEUS-based classification and clinical outcomes • CEUS-based classification is helpful for surgeons in the emergency management of abdominal trauma.

Emergency contrast-enhanced ultrasonography for pancreatic injuries in blunt abdominal trauma.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to retrospectively investigate the application of emergency contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in blunt pancreatic trauma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-two consecutive patients with blunt pancreatic trauma were examined using CEUS from March 2007 to June 2012. The findings of CEUS were compared with those of contrast-enhanced computed tomography scans at level-1 diagnostic tests. RESULTS: Out of the 22 patients, 21 were diagnosed with blunt pancreatic injury using CEUS, including 8 patients with lesions in the neck of pancreas, 9 in the body, 3 in the tail and 1 in the head. The injury sites appeared as anechoic and/or hypoechoic perfusion defect regions with irregular borders in parenchyma and capsule on CEUS images. The lesion sizes measured by CEUS were 1.88 ± 0.81 cm, which were consistent with the 1.93 ± 0.77 cm measured by CT (p > 0.05). Using CT as a reference standard, the detection rate of CEUS in blunt pancreatic trauma was 95.5 % (21/22). CONCLUSIONS: CEUS findings can be used to provide a reliable diagnosis for blunt pancreatic trauma. CEUS is thus promising in the assessment of blunt pancreatic trauma, especially in institutions where emergency CEUS is used as an initial diagnostic instrument.

Percutaneous treatment of blunt hepatic and splenic trauma under contrast-enhanced ultrasound guidance.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical application of hemostatic percutaneous therapy of liver and spleen trauma under contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) guidance. A total of 83 patients with 88 traumatic organ lesions were included in this study. Liver or spleen lesions were treated by percutaneous injection of haemocoagulase atrox and α-cyanoacrylate under CEUS guidance. The results showed that one treatment was sufficient to successfully control hemorrhaging in 86 of 88 traumatic organ lesions. In 2 of 88 traumas, a second percutaneous hemostatic treatment was necessary. Percutaneous treatment of blunt hemorrhagic trauma under CEUS guidance is a feasible and safe adjunct to observation in the nonoperative management.

[CT characteristics of primary salivary gland-type lung cancer].

OBJECTIVE: To improve the diagnostic accuracy of primary salivary gland-type lung cancer on CT. METHODS: The CT findings of 13 pathologically proven primary salivary gland-type lung cancers (mucoepidermoid carcinoma, n = 8, adenoid cystic carcinoma, n = 5) were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Three mucoepidermoid carcinomas were located in the main bronchus, 4 in segmental bronchus, and 1 in peripheral lung. Intrabronchial nodule or mass with smooth or lobulated margin and punctuate or strip calcification (n = 2) was the main CT feature. The tumor showed moderate to significant enhancement after the administration of contrast medium. Three adenoid cystic carcinomas involved trachea, and 2 involved the main and lobular bronchi. The main CT features were diffuse or circumferential irregular thickness of the wall, distorted lumen, and nodule protruding into the lumen, and the longitudinal extent of the tumor was greater than its transverse axis. CONCLUSION: The CT findings of primary salivary gland-type lung cancer are rather specific and may provide helpful information for the clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Integrating PET and CT information to improve diagnostic accuracy for lung nodules: A semiautomatic computer-aided method.

UNLABELLED: Our objective was to develop and evaluate 3 semiautomatic computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) schemes for distinguishing between benign and malignant pulmonary nodules by use of features extracted from CT, 18F-FDG PET, and both CT and 18F-FDG PET. METHODS: We retrospectively collected 92 consecutive cases of pulmonary nodules (<3 cm) in patients who underwent both thoracic CT and whole-body PET/CT. Forty-two of the nodules were malignant and 50 benign, as confirmed by pathologic examination and clinical follow-up. The interval between CT and PET was less than 1 mo. Four clinical parameters, including patient age, sex, smoking status, and history of previous malignancy, were used for the CAD schemes. Sixteen CT features based on size, shape, margin, and internal structure of nodules were independently rated subjectively by 2 chest radiologists. Four PET features were viewed on a PET/CT workstation. CAD schemes based on clinical parameters together with CT features, PET features, and both CT and PET features were then used to differentiate benign from malignant nodules. Finally, the output from the CAD schemes was evaluated by use of receiver-operating-characteristic analysis. RESULTS: When we used clinical parameters and CT features as input units (CAD scheme 1), the area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve (A(z) value) of the CAD scheme was 0.83. When we used clinical parameters and PET features as input units (CAD scheme 2), the A(z) value for the computer output was 0.91. However, when we used all data as input units (CAD scheme 3), the A(z) value for the computer output was 0.95. The performance of CAD scheme 3 was better than that of CAD scheme 1 or 2. A statistically significant difference existed between the A(z) values of CAD schemes 3 and 2 (P = 0.037) and between those of CAD schemes 3 and 1 (P = 0.015). CONCLUSION: Our CAD scheme based on both PET and CT was better able to differentiate benign from malignant pulmonary nodules than were the CAD schemes based on PET alone and CT alone.

Computer-aided diagnosis in thoracic CT.

Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) provides a computerized diagnostic result as a "second opinion" to assist radiologists in the diagnosis of various diseases by use of medical images. CAD has become a practical clinical approach in diagnostic radiology, although, at present, primarily in the area of detection of breast cancer in mammograms. Currently, a large research effort has been devoted to the detection and classification of various lung diseases in thoracic computed tomography (CT) images. We describe in this article the current status of the development of CAD schemes in thoracic CT, including nodule detection, distinction between benign and malignant nodules, and detection, characterization, and differential diagnosis of diffuse lung disease. Observer performance studies indicate that these CAD schemes would be useful in clinical practice by providing radiologists with computer output as a "second opinion."