ACR Appropriateness Criteria® screening for pulmonary metastases.

Screening for pulmonary metastatic disease is an important step for staging a patient with a known or recently discovered malignancy. Here we present our recommendations for screening for metastatic disease based on recommendations from the literature and experiences of pulmonary radiologists. In short, chest computed tomographic (CT) screening is the most appropriate tool for evaluation of pulmonary metastasis in the majority of cases. Chest computed tomographic screening is also recommended for follow-up and to determine response to therapy. Other modalities such as chest radiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and scintigraphy will also be discussed. Please note that this study is a summary of the complete version of this topic, which is available on the ACR website at www.acr.org. Practitioners are encouraged to refer to the complete version.

Epipericardial fat pad necrosis: computed tomography findings and literature review.

Epipericardial fat necrosis is an unusual clinical condition of unknown etiology first reported in the literature in 1957. It presents as an acute onset of chest pain and a well-defined juxtacardiac mass. Computed tomographic findings of this condition demonstrate a fat-attenuation mass that resolves over time. We present a case of a 48-year-old man who presented with epipericardial fat necrosis followed over time with serial computed tomographic scans documenting resolution.

CT diagnosis of chyluria after partial nephrectomy.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the CT diagnosis of chyluria after partial nephrectomy. CONCLUSION: Fat in the bladder can be identified on CT after partial nephrectomy. This finding is caused by chyluria secondary to lymphatic injury and should not be mistaken for other abnormalities. Our study population did not need treatment of chyluria.

Videocapsule endoscopy versus barium contrast studies for the diagnosis of Crohn's disease recurrence involving the small intestine.

OBJECTIVES: Historically, suspected Crohn's disease (CD) has been evaluated with small bowel follow-through (SBFT) or enteroclysis (equally accurate). This study was undertaken to determine the accuracy of videocapsule endoscopy (VCE) in the diagnosis of CD relative to SBFT and clinical/laboratory indices of CD activity. Previous investigations have used VCE for the diagnosis of suspected CD in patients presenting with a variety of gastrointestinal symptoms. This is the first study to evaluate the occurrence of active disease in patients with known CD. METHODS: Thirty subjects (22 female, 8 male, aged 36.9 +/- 14.2 yr); all with prior CD diagnosis made on the basis of standard criteria (5.5 +/- 6.5 yr prior to study), in whom recurrent CD was suspected based on abdominal pain, diarrhea, anemia, and/or arthralgias. Subjects were studied in a prospective, blinded evaluation of VCE versus SBFT. SBFT was performed first; those with stricture and proximal bowel dilation were excluded from further study. For SBFT, studies were graded as grade 0 (normal), grade 1 (minimal nodularity, ulcerations, normal luminal diameter, < 5 cm involved), grade 2 (more extensive ulcers, minimal luminal narrowing, 5-10 cm involved), or grade 3 (fistula, skip areas, extensive ulceration, >10 cm involved). VCE was performed within 1 wk of SBFT. Serum was obtained for ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and CRP (C-reactive protein), stool was obtained for alpha-1 antitrypsin, and the Harvey Bradshaw index of CD severity was calculated. VCE (digitalized video) was graded as grade 0 (normal), grade 1 (erythema, isolated villi loss), grade 2 (erosion, no ulcer), or grade 3 (ulcers, spontaneous bleeding, and/or stricture). RESULTS: Twelve patients were excluded for small bowel obstruction. VCE and SBFT scores highly correlated (r = 0.65; p= 0.001). Active CD was visualized in 21 of 30 patients with videocapsule endoscopy and in 20 of 30 patients with SBFT. Complete agreement occurred in 13 of 30 studies; 13 of 17 studies differed by one grade. SBFT found mucosal disease in 20 of 30 patients and VCE found mucosal disease in 21 of 30 patients. VCE found mucosal disease in 6 patients (5 in grade 1, 1 in grade 3) with normal SBFT. SBFT showed CD in 5 patients (all grade 1) with normal VCE. Neither VCE nor SBFT scores correlated with biological or clinical indices. Patient satisfaction was superior for VCE. CONCLUSIONS: VCE and SBFT are complementary for the diagnosis of CD. SBFT may be required to detect strictures as the videocapsule may not pass. However, some strictures may also be missed with SBFT. VCE is less invasive, less time-consuming for the patient than SBFT, and avoids radiation exposure, although reading time is greater for the gastroenterologist than the radiologist. Given that patients with clinically suspected CD recurrence may not have active disease, unnecessary and potentially harmful empiric therapy is not warranted without imaging.

Endometriosis presenting as a urethral diverticulum: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Pelvic pain is a common complaint among women of childbearing age. It has an extensive differential diagnosis that at times can make it difficult to determine its etiology. One must therefore rely on the characteristics of the physical examination, symptoms and imaging studies. However, in doing so, one should keep in mind that many diseases mimic one another. Physicians must be careful not to fall into the trap of simply assigning a specific disease to a given group of symptoms. CASE: A 35-year-old woman, gravida 2, para 0020, presented to a clinic complaining of left lower abdominal pain. She had a history of dyspareunia, dysmenorrhea, urinary frequency and numerous urinary tract infections. Previous laparoscopies had been negative for endometriosis. Physical examination demonstrated a 1.5-cm mass left of the midurethra. No pus was expressed through the urethra with cyst massage. Imaging showed a 1.1 x 1.1-cm lesion in the left posterolateral aspect of the urethra consistent with a urethral diverticulum. Uterine adenomyosis was also noted. Although clinical symptoms, physical examination and imaging suggested a urethral diverticulum, a vaginal endometriotic cyst was encountered at surgery. Pathologic evaluation of the surgically excised lesion revealed endometriosis, revealed endometriosis. CONCLUSION: In this case, clinical findings, location and imaging characteristics of a periurethral endometriotic lesion suggested a urethral diverticulum. Endometriosis should be considered in patients with a history of pelvic pain who present with urinary frequency and a periurethral lesion.