A retrospective analysis of the clinical impact of 939 chest radiographs using the medical records.

Objective. Between one-third and half of all radiology examinations worldwide are probably chest studies. The aim of the current study was to retrospectively evaluate the clinical influence of chest radiography. Methods. In a tertiary referral hospital, 939 consecutive daytime chest radiography examinations were evaluated. The outcome was classified as normal, incidental, or pathologic. The referring physician's reaction to radiologic outcome was classified as highly expected, moderately expected, or unexpected. The influence on the patients' treatment was divided into four groups from major to no influence. Results. In all, 71.6% of the studies had a highly expected outcome. Moderately expected or unexpected outcomes were noted in 36.6% of 500 pathologic examinations. Unexpected outcome was noted in 11.6% of all studies. The radiologic outcome influenced treatment in 65.4% of patients where pathology was demonstrated. Patients with normal or incidental findings had treatment influenced in 1/3 of the cases. Unexpected findings influenced treatment more than moderately expected findings. When radiological findings were highly expected, treatment was influenced in less than half of the cases. Surprisingly few chest radiology examinations were commented upon in the medical records

Diagnosis and progression of sacroiliitis in repeated sacroiliac joint computed tomography.

Objective. To assess the clinical utility of repeat sacroiliac joint computed tomography (CT) in sacroiliitis by assessing the proportion of patients changing from normal to pathologic at CT and to which degree there is progression of established sacroiliitis at repeat CT. Methods. In a retrospective analysis of 334 patients (median age 34 years) with symptoms suggestive of inflammatory back pain, CT had been performed twice, in 47 of these thrice, and in eight patients four times. The studies were scored as normal, equivocal, unilateral sacroiliitis, or bilateral sacroiliitis. Results. There was no change in 331 of 389 repeat examinations. Ten patients (3.0%) had progressed from normal or equivocal to unilateral or bilateral sacroiliitis. Of 43 cases with sacroiliitis on the first study, 36 (83.7%) progressed markedly. Two normal cases had changed to equivocal. Eight equivocal cases were classified as normal on the repeat study. In further two patients, only small changes within the scoring grade equivocal were detected. Conclusions. CT is a valuable examination for diagnosis of sacroiliitis, but a repeated examination detects only a few additional cases of sacroiliitis. Most cases with already established sacroiliitis showed progression of disease

Computed tomography compared to magnetic resonance imaging in occult or suspect hip fractures. A retrospective study in 44 patients.

Computed tomography (CT) for evaluation of occult and suspect hip fractures has been proposed as a good second-line investigation. The diagnostic precision compared to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is unclear

Prevalence of exclusively and concomitant pelvic fractures at magnetic resonance imaging of suspect and occult hip fractures.

Pelvic fractures may occur together with hip fractures as a result of low energy trauma. It is unclear whether they do require special attention. There are conflicting results in the literature about the prevalence of both concomitant hip and pelvic fractures as well as exclusive pelvic fractures. It has been reported that hip fractures and obturator ring fractures are mutually exclusive. To retrospectively analyze the prevalence of exclusively pelvic as well as concomitant hip and pelvic fractures in patients examined with MRI after low-energy trauma in elderly. During 9 years, 316 elderly patients had been examined with MRI for suspected or occult hip fracture after a fall. A fracture was diagnosed when MRI showed focal signal abnormalities in the subcortical bone marrow, with or without disruption of adjacent cortices. One observer reviewed all studies. A second observer verified all studies with hip fractures. Follow-up was available for all but two patients that died prior to hip surgery. The prevalence of concomitant pelvic and femoral neck or trochanteric fractures was statistically compared using chi-squared test for categorical variables. Hip fractures were found in 161 (51 %) patients of which 29 (9 %) had concomitant pelvic fractures. There were exclusively pelvic fractures in 82 (26 %) patients of which 65 (79 %) were on the traumatized side only. In 73 patients, there were no fractures. Occult or suspected hip fractures are not infrequently associated with pelvic fractures. Exclusively pelvic fractures are not uncommon

Clinical utility of tomosynthesis in suspected scaphoid fracture. A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Radiography alone will not detect all scaphoid fractures. There is a reported prevalence between 9 and 33% of occult scaphoid fractures. The evidence-based literature suggests that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the most suitable secondary imaging modality due to the ability to evaluate the bone marrow directly and to also identify other injuries. However, there is no consensus on the choice of follow-up imaging strategy-computed tomography, MRI, or bone scan-across different institutions. Tomosynthesis is a new digital tomographic method creating multiple thin tomographic sections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical utility of tomosynthesis in suspected occult fracture. METHODS: Thirty-five patients with a clinically suspected occult scaphoid fracture after initial normal radiography were imaged with repeat radiography and tomosynthesis scan 2 weeks after trauma. RESULTS: Repeat radiography revealed one previously undetected scaphoid tubercle avulsion and one scaphoid waist fracture, confirmed by tomosynthesis. Tomosynthesis revealed two additional scaphoid waist fractures. In total, three initially occult scaphoid waist fractures were detected (9%). No additional fractures were detected in the remaining 32 patients during a 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSION: Tomosynthesis can demonstrate occult scaphoid fractures not visible at radiography

Bone bruise, lipohemarthrosis, and joint effusion in CT of non-displaced hip fracture.

BackgroundA suspected occult hip fracture after normal radiography is not uncommon in an elderly person after a fall. Despite a lack of robust validation in the literature, computed tomography (CT) is often used as secondary imaging.PurposeTo assess the frequency and clinical utility of non-cortical skeletal and soft tissue lesions as ancillary fracture signs in CT diagnosis of occult hip fractures.Material and MethodsAll fracture signs (cortical and trabecular fractures, bone bruise, joint effusion, and lipohemarthrosis) were recorded in 231 hip low-energy trauma cases with CT performed after normal or equivocal radiography in two trauma centers.ResultsThere were no fracture signs in 110 patients. Twelve of these had a joint effusion. In 121 patients with 46 cervical hip fractures and 75 trochanteric fractures one or more fracture signs were present. Cortical fractures were found in 115 patients. Bone bruise was found in 119 patients, joint effusion in 35, and lipohemarthrosis in 20 patients.ConclusionAncillary signs such as bone bruise and lipohemarthrosis can strengthen and sometimes indicate the diagnosis in CT of occult hip fractures. Joint effusion is a non-specific sign

Bone bruise, lipohemarthrosis, and joint effusion in CT of non-displaced hip fracture

BackgroundA suspected occult hip fracture after normal radiography is not uncommon in an elderly person after a fall. Despite a lack of robust validation in the literature, computed tomography (CT) is often used as secondary imaging.PurposeTo assess the frequency and clinical utility of non-cortical skeletal and soft tissue lesions as ancillary fracture signs in CT diagnosis of occult hip fractures.Material and MethodsAll fracture signs (cortical and trabecular fractures, bone bruise, joint effusion, and lipohemarthrosis) were recorded in 231 hip low-energy trauma cases with CT performed after normal or equivocal radiography in two trauma centers.ResultsThere were no fracture signs in 110 patients. Twelve of these had a joint effusion. In 121 patients with 46 cervical hip fractures and 75 trochanteric fractures one or more fracture signs were present. Cortical fractures were found in 115 patients. Bone bruise was found in 119 patients, joint effusion in 35, and lipohemarthrosis in 20 patients.ConclusionAncillary signs such as bone bruise and lipohemarthrosis can strengthen and sometimes indicate the diagnosis in CT of occult hip fractures. Joint effusion is a non-specific sign

Added value of interpreter experience in occult and suspect hip fractures: a retrospective analysis of 254 patients.

The influence of experience in categorizing suspect and occult fractures on radiography compared to MRI and clinical outcome has not been studied. The aim of this study is to evaluate the importance of experience in diagnosing normal or suspect hip radiographs compared to MRI. Primarily reported normal or suspect radiography in 254 patients with low-energy hip trauma and subsequent MRI was re-evaluated by two experienced reviewers. Primary readings and review were compared. The prevalence of fractures among normal and suspect radiographic studies was assessed. Clinical outcome was used as reference. At review of radiography, 44 fractures (17 %) were found. Significantly more fractures were found among suspect cases than among normal cases. At MRI, all 44 fractures were confirmed, and further 64 fractures were detected (25 %). MRI detected all fractures with no missed fractures revealed at follow-up. There were a significantly higher proportion of fractures at MRI among the suspect radiographic diagnoses for both the primary report and at review than among occult cases. The more experienced reviewers classified radiography examinations with higher accuracy than primary reporting general radiologists. There was almost complete agreement on MRI diagnoses