Lithiasis-induced acute kidney injury: Is ultrasonography enough?

Obstructive acute kidney injury(AKI) is relatively common, reported in 8% to 17% of cases presenting with community-acquired AKI. It is more frequent in males of advanced age, usually from bladder outlet obstruction. Guidelines recommend imaging, namely a renal tract ultrasound (US), within 24 hours from admission to rule-out obstruction and guarantee recovery of renal function. Lithiasis is not a common cause of AKI (1\u20132% of obstructive cases) and it is reported that only 0.72% of patients with urinary calculi develop AKI from stones. It is known that US may have difficulties in demonstrating stones-related obstructionand that unenhanced CT ismost sensitive and specific for this purpose. We report therefore the imaging findings in a series of patients with lithiasis-induced AKI to understand the respective roles of these techniques

The added value of simultaneous palpation during scrotal ultrasound

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Surface Roughness of Commercial Composites after Different Polishing Protocols: An Analysis with Atomic Force Microscopy

Polishing may increase the surface roughness of composites, with a possible effect on bacterial growth and material properties. This preliminary in vitro study evaluates the effect of three different polishing systems (PoGo polishers, Enhance, Venus Supra) on six direct resin composites (Gradia Direct, Venus, Venus Diamond, Enamel Plus HFO, Tetric Evoceram, Filtek Supreme XT)

Scrotal Masses

No abstract availabl

[Abdominal Doppler echography. Pathologic arterial signals].

In this paper, the features are reported of the major pathological flow signals obtained during Doppler examinations of abdominal vessels. The patterns are correlated with the pathological lesions which may cause them, as well as with the underlying changes in arterial hemodynamics. Pathological flow signals are divided into three groups, according to the sites where the lesions producing them are located. a) Lesions of the vessel walls. In this group, both widening of spectrum due to disturbed flow and increased blood velocity from vessel stenosis are presented. Also flow alterations occurring in aneurysms (reduction of flow velocity and presence of vorticous flow) are discussed. b) Changes in peripheral resistances. Peripheral resistances may either increase or decrease due to a variety of diseases. Parenchymal edema, compression, infiltration, as well as small vessel disease, may increase vascular impedance. Fall of vascular resistances may be observed in inflammation or in arteriovenous fistulas either large (congenital or hemodialysis fistulas) or microscopic, as in many hypervascular tumors. A typical "to and fro" flow pattern was seen in vessels where flow resistance is overcome only during systole, such as in arterial pseudoaneurysms. c) Changes in rhythm or strength of the heartbeat, cardiac valvular diseases, postocclusive flow. A variety of pathological findings may be observed in these conditions. Peculiar changes in the waveforms are seen with variations in heart frequency. Changes may be detected also in aortic valvular diseases, with retrograde flow observed in patients with aortic insufficiency. Low and slow flow are seen in post-stenotic and/or postocclusive vessels

Ultrasonography of peripheral nerves.

With recent improvements in ultrasound (US) imaging equipment and refinements in scanning technique, an increasing number of peripheral nerves and related pathologic conditions can be identified. US imaging can support clinical and electrophysiologic testing for detection of nerve abnormalities caused by trauma, tumors, and a variety of nonneoplastic conditions, including entrapment neuropathies. This article addresses the normal US appearance of peripheral nerves and discusses the potential role of US nerve imaging in specific clinical settings. A series of US images of diverse pathologic processes involving peripheral nerves is presented