Evaluation of various patient-, lesion-, and procedure-related factors on the occurrence of pneumothorax as a complication of CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy

Purpose: To assess the influence of various patient-, lesion-, and procedure-related variables on the occurrence of pneumothorax as a complication of CT-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy. Material and methods: In a total of 208 patients, 215 lung/mediastinal lesions (seven patients were biopsied twice) were sampled under CT guidance using coaxial biopsy set via percutaneous transthoracic approach. Incidence of post procedure pneumothorax was seen and the influence of various patient-, lesion-, and procedure-related variables on the frequency of pneumothorax with special emphasis on procedural factors like dwell time and needle-pleural angle was analysed. Results: Pneumothorax occurred in 25.12% (54/215) of patients. Increased incidence of pneumothorax had a statistically significant correlation with age of the patient (p = 0.0020), size (p = 0.0044) and depth (p = 0.0001) of the lesion, and needle-pleural angle (p = 0.0200). Gender of the patient (p = 0.7761), emphysema (p = 0.2724), site of the lesion (p = 0.9320), needle gauge (p = 0.7250), patient position (p = 0.9839), and dwell time (p = 0.9330) had no significant impact on the pneumothorax rate. Conclusions: This study demonstrated a significant effect of the age of the patient, size and depth of the lesion, and needle-pleural angle on the incidence of post-procedural pneumothorax. Emphysema as such had no effect on pneumothorax rate, but once pneumothorax occurred, emphysematous patients were more likely to be symptomatic, necessitating chest tube placement. Gender of the patient, site of the lesion, patient position during the procedure, and dwell time had no statistically significant relation with the frequency of post-procedural pneumothorax. Surprisingly, needle gauge had no significant effect on pneumothorax frequency, but due to the small sample size, non-randomisation, and bias in needle size selection as per lesion size, further studies are required to fully elucidate the causal relationship between needle size and post-procedural pneumothorax rate. The needle should be as perpendicular as possible to the pleura (needle-pleural angle close to 90°), to minimise the possibility of pneumothorax after percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy

The spectrum of imaging findings in pulmonary hydatid disease and the additive value of T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in its diagnosis

Purpose: To describe the spectrum of imaging findings in pulmonary echinococcosis and to study the additive value of T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the characterisation of pulmonary hydatid disease. Material and methods: This was a descriptive, prospective study conducted for a period of 3 years from December 2016 to November 2019. Patients suspected of having pulmonary echinococcosis (n = 110) on preliminary chest radiography were examined with chest computed tomography (CT). Among them 41 cases were additionally examined with T2-weighted MRI of thorax. Final diagnosis was based on surgery or histopathology. Results: Of the 110 patients enrolled for the study 15 were lost to attrition, and among the final cohort of 95 patients CT correctly diagnosed 68/84 (80.9%) as hydatid cyst, whereas 16/84 (19.1%) received an erroneous alternate diagnosis on CT. Based on the classical findings of hyperintense pulmonary cystic lesion with T2-weighted hypointense rim or detached internal T2-weighted hypointense membrane, a correct diagnosis of hydatid cyst was possible in 30 patients whereas a correct alternate diagnosis was made in 8 cases. T2-weighted MRI was found to have sensitivity of 96.7%, specificity of 80%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 93.7% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 88.9% with an overall diagnostic accuracy of 92.6%. Using the McNemar test, MRI was found to be diagnostically superior to CT (p = 0.019). Conclusions: Most of the pulmonary hydatid cysts can be diagnosed on CT; however, sometimes the findings may be indeterminate or atypical, leading to a diagnostic dilemma. MRI, owing to its ability to demonstrate hypointense endocyst, can act as a useful adjunct to correctly diagnose hydatid cyst or suggest an alternative diagnosis

Pseudoaneurysm of mitral-aortic intervalvular fibrosa in a child: Demonstration by MDCT and MRI

Subaortic left ventricular outflow tract pseudoaneurysms are rare lesions that are associated with aortic valve diseases, infective endocarditis, trauma or surgery. We present dynamic multidetector computerized tomography and cine magnetic resonance imaging features of a case of subaortic aneurysm arising from interaortic-mitral valvular region in a child with past history of infective endocarditis

Role of Diffusion-Weighted and Chemical Shift Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Spinal Fractures

Atraumatic spinal compression fractures are common clinical problem. Differentiating benign osteoporotic fractures from pathological fractures due to malignant/metastatic lesions affects the management and prognoses in patients with known extraspinal malignancy.    The objective of the research was to assess the role of conventional magnetic resonance imaging sequences with diffusion-weighted imaging and chemical-shift imaging in differentiating benign and malignant acute spinal compression fractures. Materials and Methods. The study included 40 patients with acute spinal compression fractures. Patients were evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging with diffusion-weighted imaging and chemical-shift imaging to differentiate benign etiology from malignant one. The results obtained were compared with histopathological follow-up for 6 months for definite clinical diagnoses. Results. No significant difference was noted in signal characteristics of benign and malignant fractures on T1, T2 and short-tau inversion recovery. However, posterior element involvement, soft tissue component and post-contrast enhancement were seen more frequently in malignant fractures (p<0.05). On diffusion-weighted images, 77.8% of malignant fractures were hyperintense and 59.1% of benign fractures were hypointense (p<0.05). The mean apparent diffusion coefficient value was 0.81 ± 0.19 for malignant and 1.24 ± 0.24 for benign fractures (p<0.5). The mean signal intensity ratio for malignant fractures was 0.91 ± 0.125, whereas the signal intensity ratio for benign fractures was 0.64 ± 0.096 (p<0.001). Conclusions. Signal characteristics on T1, T2 and short-tau inversion recovery sequences do not differentiate benign from malignant fractures; however, posterior element involvement, soft tissue and post contrast enhancement help in differentiating the etiology. Diffusion-weighted imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient values, as well as using chemical shift imaging further improve the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging

High resolution B Mode ultrasound of common carotid artery in evaluation of atherosclerosis in patients of rheumatoid arthritis.

Research Question: Can atherosclerotic changes be detected using b mode ultrasound. (Carotid Doppler) Objectives: The aim of our study was 1) to confirm the presence of atherosclerosis in patients of rheumatoid arthritis; 2) Role of high resolution B mode ultrasound Doppler to assess the existence of atherosclerosis in RA patients, measuring the intima-medial thickness (IMT) of the common carotid arteries; and 3) Role of inflammation in development of atherosclerosis in absence of traditional risk factors. Study Design: Hospital based cross-sectional case control study. Methods: Carotid IMT was measured using high-resolution B-mode ultrasound in 40 patients with RA and 20 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Serum total cholesterol, serum triglycerides, rheumatoid factor, body mass index (BMI) was determined. ESR, C-reactive protein (CRP) were used to measure systemic inflammation. DAS 28 was used to measure disease activity and x ray hands were used to determine erosions for bone damage. Results: Common carotid IMT were significantly higher (p=0.0000) in RA patients (0.61±0.02) compared with controls (0.45±0.07). In RA patients common carotid IMT significantly correlated with serum triglycerides (p=0.037), and ESR (p=0.034). No significant correlation was found with other clinical and laboratory parameters reflecting disease activity. Significant positive correlation was observed with use of non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs and use of ayurvedic drugs. Conclusions: Our results confirm an accelerated atherosclerosis, as shown by increased common carotid IMT, in patients with RA compared with controls even in the absence of traditional risk factors. There is definite role of inflammation in development of atherosclerosis in these patients. High-resolution B-mode ultrasound may be considered a promising, sensitive, non invasive, and cost effective tool for assessing the existence of atherosclerosis in RA patients

64-slice CT imaging in a case of total anomalous pulmonary venous circulation

For long, catheter angiography has been the investigation of choice for the diagnosis of congenital anomalies of the heart such as total anomalous pulmonary venous circulation (TAPVC). In the last few years, MRI and multislice CT scan have also been introduced for this purpose. We report a case where 64-slice CT scan was found very useful in the evaluation of TAPVC

Retroperitoneal Castlemans Disease associated with Paraneoplastic Pemphigus

Paraneoplastic pemphigus is a rare dermatologic condition that can occur as a paraneoplastic manifestation of lymphoproliferative disorders, visceral malignancies, Castleman disease and thymomas. In a pediatric age group paraneoplastic pemphigus has a striking association with Castleman disease and has a particularly poor prognosis in this age group. We describe a case of paraneoplastic pemphigus associated with retroperitoneal hyaline vascular variant of Castleman disease with a fatal outcome despite aggressive management

Uncomplicated Spontaneous Rupture of the Pancreatic Pseudocyst into the Gut – CT Documentation: A Series of Two Cases

Spontaneous rupture of the pancreatic pseudocyst into the surrounding hollow viscera is rare and, may be associated with life-threatening bleeding. Such cases require emergency surgical intervention. Uncomplicated rupture of pseudocyst is an even rarer occurrence. We present herein two cases of uncomplicated spontaneous rupture of a pancreatic pseudocyst into the stomach with complete resolution