Thyrolipomas : prevalence in computed tomography and suggestions for pragmatic management

BACKGROUND: Thyrolipomas seem to be a rare occurrence and until now their prevalence has only been reported in two studies. Because of the known significant geographic variations of thyroid disease, generalizability of these findings is uncertain as well as the management of found thyrolipomas. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Retrospective study of 107 computed tomography scans of the chest of a European inpatient population. A literature review was performed and considerations for pragmatic management were proposed. RESULTS: Thyrolipomas were found in 2.8% of patients. All thyrolipomas were smaller than 15 mm. In all patients these were incidental findings unrelated to patients symptoms. No secondary signs of malignancy could be detected. CONCLUSIONS: Thyrolipomas are a common finding on cross sectional imaging. Like in this study they seem to be incidental findings lacking clinical relevance. Because of the rare possibility of an thyroid cancer with inclusion of mature fat, sonographic follow-up of incidentally discovered thyrolipomas larger than 15 mm should be suggested

Pancreatic lipomas : prevalence in patients undergoing abdominal CT

Background: Pancreatic lipomas are reported to be rare but their prevalence is unknown. This study examined the prevalence of pancreatic lipomas in a sample of patients undergoing abdominal computed tomography. Material and Methods: Retrospective review of 100 abdominal computed tomographic scans. Results: In 6 patients small pancreatic lipomas were found. There was no predominance in location or gender. The lipomas measured between 4 and 12 mm. All lipomas were incidental findings unrelated to patients' symptoms. Conclusions: Pancreatic lipomas seem to be quite a common finding and can be found in 6% of patients undergoing abdominal CT. Radiologists should be aware of this finding to establish proper differential diagnosis

Calcific Discitis Seems to be a Common Incidental Finding in Adults

Calcific discitis seems to be a rare cause of back pain in adults. Imaging shows a calcification of the nucleus pulposus with extension through the endplates on computed tomography. This can be accompanied by bone marrow edema on magnetic resonance imaging. In a retrospective review of 150 patients, 4 cases of calcific discitis were found (2.8%). None of the patients reported about back pain. Therefore, it seems that symptomatic cases of calcific discitis are a rare occurrence in contrast to the quite frequent incidental finding of asymptomatic cases on imaging. Knowledge of the various imaging appearances of calcific discitis is necessary for radiologists, because especially in acute cases with substantial bone marrow edema, this benign entity may be confused with infectious spondylodiscitis or malignancy

Missed incidental vertebral compression fractures on computed tomography imaging: More optimism justified

Missed incidental vertebral compression fractures on computed tomography (CT) imaging are a common problem. Although numerous publications are available on this topic, recent publications still show a high percentage of such missed fractures. The rate of such missed fractures in the authors department is much lower than that in the reported literature when routine multiplanar reconstructions are used for reporting CT scans. Therefore, a more optimistic view on this topic seems to be justified

Gebethbüchlein für Kinder

von Johann GossnerIn Fraktu