Shear wave elastography and T2* mapping in the detection of early-stage trochlear cartilage damage.

BACKGROUND: The presence of degenerative changes in joint cartilage is one of the major features in osteoarthritis. PURPOSE: To investigate the contribution of shear wave elastography and T2* mapping to the early diagnosis of femoral trochlear cartilage damage. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 30 individuals whose trochlear cartilage structure was evaluated as normal in conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences (control group) were prospectively compared with 30 patients who had early-stage cartilage damage findings on conventional MRI (study group), by performing B-mode ultrasonography, shear wave elastography, and T2* mapping. Cartilage thickness, shear wave, and T2* mapping measurements were recorded. RESULTS: After evaluating B-mode ultrasound and conventional MRI sequences, cartilage thickness was found to be significantly higher in the study group on both B-mode ultrasound and MRI. Shear wave velocity values of the study group (medial condyle [MC] 4.65 ± 1.11 m/sn, intercondylar [IC] 4.74 ± 1.20 m/sn, and lateral condyle [LC] 5.42 ± 1.48 m/sn) were observed to be significantly lower than the control group (MC 5.60 ± 0.77 m/sn, IC 5.85 ± 0.96 m/sn, and LC 5.63 ± 1.05 m/sn) (P < 0.05). T2* mapping values were significantly higher in the study group (MC 32.38 ± 4.04 ms, IC 35.78 ± 4.85 ms, and LC 34.04 ± 3.40 ms) than that of the control group (MC 28.07 ± 3.29 ms, IC 30.63 ± 3.45 ms, and LC 29.02 ± 3.24 ms). CONCLUSION: Shear wave elastography and T2* mapping are reliable methods for evaluating early-stage trochlear cartilage damage.

Tortuous vertebral artery triggering vertebral foramen expansion and radiculopathy in a 19-year-old patient: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Arterial tortuosity is a widespread condition commonly occurring in cerebral arteries and often associated with the elderly. Moderate arterial tortuosity is often not symptomatic, but if there is severe tortuosity, various symptoms may occur, depending on the localization. In the literature, many factors have been reported as causing tortuosity in the vertebral arteries. In this case report, considering the age of our patient, we propose that, in addition to these previously reported reasons, congenital factors may also contribute to this situation. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of a 19-year-old Turkish patient with a tortuous vertebral artery causing pain and tingling in the right shoulder and neck. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed vertebral foramen enlargement thought to be secondary to a loop formation in the vertebral artery. The diagnosis was confirmed by magnetic resonance angiography. CONCLUSIONS: There are many causes of cervical radiculopathy. Arterial tortuosity, a rare cause of radiculopathy, should be considered as a differential diagnosis. Consideration of the existence of this variation is of great importance in preventing possible dangerous complications during surgery.

Does Periosteal Graft Combined With Platelet-Rich Plasma Enhance the Healing of Bone Defect?

INTRODUCTION: This study investigated the effect of periosteal graft + platelet-rich plasma (PRP) combination on facial bone defect healing. METHODS: Five-millimeter critical sized defects in zygomatic arches of 12 adult New Zealand rabbits were created. Rabbits were randomly divided into 3 groups: First group (control group): bone defects of left zygomatic arches of 6 rabbits were wrapped with a silicone tube. Second group (periosteal graft group): bone defects of left zygomatic arches of 6 rabbits were wrapped with periosteal graft. Third group (experimental group): bone defects of right zygomatic arches of 12 rabbits were wrapped with periosteal graft-PRP combination. New bone formation was evaluated at 8th and 16th weeks. One rabbit was sacrificed at 8th week. Remaining 11 rabbits were imaged with 3-dimensional computed tomography (CT) at 16th week; then, zygomatic arches were removed for micro-CT and histologic examinations. RESULTS: Three-dimensional CT analysis at 16th week revealed no significant difference between groups regarding new bone formation (P = 0.232). Micro-CT analysis of new regenerated bone at 16th week displayed significant differences between groups 1 and 3 regarding mean bone volume (BV, mm) (P = 0.028) and mean bone mineral density (BMD, mm) (P = 0.001). There was no difference between groups 2 and 3 or between groups 1 and 2, regarding BV or BMD. Histological Bone Regeneration Scorings at 16th week displayed significant difference between groups (P = 0.015). Negative correlation between 3-dimensional CT and histologic results (r = 0.120); positive correlations between BV/BMD values in micro-CT and histologic results (r = 0.524 and r = 0.456) were found. CONCLUSIONS: By enhancing bone formation capacity of periosteal grafts, periosteal graft-PRP combination provided bone formation having more volume and density comparing with silicone tube application.

Accessory occipital suture mimicking fracture in head trauma.

The occipital bone is a complex structure due to its anatomy and accessory sutures. Fracture - accessory suture differential diagnosis should be performed carefully in patients with a history of head trauma [4]. In this case report we wanted to emphasize that accessory sutures can be difficult to diagnose in patients with head trauma. We also specified the points to be considered in the suture - fracture differentional diagnosis. A bilateral, symmetrical fissure line was observed in the occipital bone basal part of the patient who was admitted to our emergency department due to head trauma. The patient was followed up with accessory suture and then discharged after paying attention to important points in the differential diagnosis.

Prevalence of the Accessory Cardiac Bronchus on Multidetector Computed Tomography: Evaluation and Proposed Classification.

PURPOSE: Accessory cardiac bronchus (ACB) is a very rare congenital anomaly and may cause some clinical complications, such as recurrent episodes of both infection and hemoptysis. The purpose of this study was to assess the multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) characteristics of ACB and to classify this anomaly according to the MDCT aspects. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The routine thoracic CT scans from 5790 patients were evaluated retrospectively. The prevalence, location, length, diameter, division angle, distance from the carina, and the type of ACB were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 12 ACBs were identified, with a prevalence of 0.2%. All ACBs originated from the intermediate bronchus. The median largest diameter of the ACBs was 7.75 mm (range: 5.8 to 10.30 mm), the median length was 12.1 mm (range: 8.6 to 35 mm), the median division angle was 61 degrees (range: 42 to 93 degrees), and the median distance from the carina was 16.95 mm (range: 5.7 to 22.20 mm). Six cases (50%) had a blind extremity (type 1: diverticulum or stump type), 3 cases (25%) had a mutiloculated cystic change at the end (type 2: cystic type), and 3 cases (25%) had a ventilated lobulus demarcated by an anomalous fissure (type 3: ventilated type). CONCLUSIONS: ACBs can be classified into 3 types according to their MDCT features. Recognition of ACB is important, as it is associated with clinical complications and is also salient in trauma cases.

Lumbar Morel-Lavallee lesion after trauma: a report of 2 cases.

Morel-Lavallee syndrome is a posttraumatic soft tissue injury in which the subcutaneous tissue is broken off from the underlying fascia, creating a cavity filled with hematoma and liquefied fat. It commonly occurs over the greater trochanter and, rarely, may also occur in the lumbal region.Morel-Lavallee syndrome can be often diagnosed late because of ommitted diagnosis in emergency services. The emergency physician and radiologist must keep this syndrome in mind because early diagnosis can enable conservative management, whereas delayed diagnosis may lead to surgical exploration. In this article,we present the clinical and radiologic features of 2 cases of lumbar Morel-Lavallee syndrome detected after trauma.

Effectiveness of the STIR turbo spin-echo sequence MR imaging in evaluation of lymphadenopathy in esophageal cancer.

PURPOSE: We have investigated the utility of the STIR TSE sequence in the differentiation of benign from malignant mediastinal lymph nodes in patients with esophageal cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This study included 35 consecutive patients who were diagnosed as esophageal cancer and were undergone surgery. STIR TSE sequences were obtained as the ECG trigger. The signal intensity of the benign and malign lymph nodes, normal esophagus, and pathologic esophagus can be calculated on STIR sequence. RESULTS: Pathologically, the number of total lymph nodes in 35 operated cases was 482. Approximately 152 lymph nodes were detected with MR imaging. Of these, 28 were thought to be malignant, and 124 were thought to be benign, although 32 were malignant and 120 were benign according pathological results. The ratio of benign lymph node intensity value to normal esophagus intensity value was 0.73±0.3. The ratio of malignant lymph node intensity value to normal esophagus intensity value ratio was 2.03±0.4. According to these results, the sensitivity of MR was 81.3%, the specificity was 98.3%. CONCLUSION: We think that if motionless images can be obtained with MRI, we may be able to differentiate benign lymph nodes from malignant ones.

Multiple renal arteries: variations demonstrated by multidetector computed tomography angiography.

OBJECTIVE: To present a case of a rare variation of the renal artery and multiple (7) renal arteries by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) angiography. CLINICAL PRESENTATION AND INTERVENTION: A 36-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital as a potential living donor for renal transplantation. An MDCT angiography was performed using a 16-detector row CT scanner to obtain a detailed image of vascular structures and associated pathologies. The MDCT clearly revealed the presence of 3 right and 2 left renal arteries arising from the abdominal aorta. Additionally, the accessory renal artery arose from the inferior mesenteric artery on the left side and from the common iliac artery on the right side. CONCLUSION: This case highlights the importance of awareness of renal artery variations if surgical procedures are indicated in this region.

Prenatal MRI findings of polycystic kidney disease associated with holoprosencephaly.

Holoprosencephaly (HPE) and polycystic kidney disease (PKD) are genetically heterogeneous anomalies which can make up part of various syndromes or chromosomal anomalies. Due to the rapid lethality prognosis, early and precise prenatal diagnosis would be of great value. This case report describes extensive PKD involvement, already present in utero, in a patient with HPE and subdural effusion visible by MR imaging. The detailed anatomic information obtained by the MR imaging can guide the surgical planning and can aid antenatal counseling.

Congenital anomalies of the aorta and vena cava: 16-detector-row CT imaging findings.

Cardiovascular specialists should be aware of the common types of congenital vascular anomalies and understand their implications for the patient's treatment and the likelihood of associated morbidity. Conventional angiography, the gold standard in vascular imaging, is an invasive and expensive method. Therefore, in recent years, less invasive techniques such as computed tomography angiography (CTA) and magnetic resonance angiography have become more widely used. Because of the recent advances in CT technology, multi-detector CTA has replaced conventional angiography in most clinical applications. Multi-detector CTA is a relatively new method and is very useful in the diagnosis and management of congenital aorta and vena cava anomalies. This study presents the radiological images of congenital anomalies of the aorta and vena cava, obtained through multi-detector CTA.

CT findings in silicosis due to denim sandblasting.

The purpose of this study was to describe the findings of CT performed on denim sandblasters with silicosis. Fifty consecutive male patients with silicosis were evaluated. Their clinical data and pulmonary function tests (PFT) were obtained. The CT findings were recorded and the correlations between CT nodular profusion score and the other parameters were assessed. The diagnoses of the patients were classified as accelerated silicosis (n = 43) and acute silicosis (n = 7). The most common CT finding was centrilobular nodules. Twenty-three patients had complicated silicosis based on pleural involvement and presence of progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). Lymphadenopathy (LAP) was positive in 50% of the patients, with calcification in 24%. The CT grade was highly correlated with the clinical data such as exposure duration and PFT. Our findings suggest that the clinical manifestation of silicosis in denim sandblasters is severe. Although the duration of exposure is shorter the rate of complicated silicosis patients with pleural involvement was unexpectedly higher in the cases. Because the most common radiological appearance was nodules and the CT grading of the nodules was highly correlated with the clinical data, nodule grading may be used in the management of such cases.

Alveolar echinococcosis of liver presenting with neurological symptoms due to brain metastases with simultaneous lung metastasis: a case report.

Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) is a chronic and serious, even lethal, parasitic infection caused by the helminth Echinococcus multilocularis (EM). AE is an endemic disease in Turkey and it is particularly common in people living in the eastern Anatolia Region. In addition to various clinical presentations, symptoms which lead to diagnosis, however, are usually associated with the metastatic lesions. We herein reported a 62-year-old man who had liver alveolar hydatid disease with simultaneous lung and brain metastasis. We think there was only one therapeutic option, namely medical treatment with albendazol, which is the usual treatment for patients living in eastern Anatolia and who are admitted late resulting in a subsequent inoperable situation. Thus, radiological screening studies for the public in this region may increase the possibility of surgical treatment for alveolar hydatid disease.

Management of Fournier's gangrene: review of 45 cases.

PURPOSE: Fournier's gangrene is a fatal synergistic infectious disease with necrotizing fasciitis of the perineum and abdominal wall along with the scrotum and penis in men and the vulva in women. METHODS: The clinical and operative records of 45 patients with Fournier's gangrene during a 14-year period were analyzed. RESULTS: The etiology of the infection was identified in 39 patients. The most common causes were colorectal diseases and urogenital diseases. Four patients died with an overall mortality of 8.8%. The mortality rate was higher in patients with diabetes mellitus, but it was not statistically different. The age, duration of the symptoms, and the presence of rectal abscess were not found to be significant factors regarding mortality rate. CONCLUSIONS: Surgery with extensive debridement of all necrotic tissue is the main stay of treatment.