26 research outputs found

    Intracranial Hemorrhage from Dural Arteriovenous Fistulas: What Can We Find with CT Angiography?

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    Background: Dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVF) represent a rare acquired intracranial vascular malformation, with a variety of clinical signs and symptoms, which make their diagnosis difficult. Intracranial hemorrhage is one of the most serious clinical manifestations. In this paper the authors’ goal was to verify the accuracy and utility of contrast-enhanced brain CT angiography (CTA) for the identification and the characterization of dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) in patients who presented with brain hemorrhage compared to 3D digital subtraction angiography (3D DSA); (2) a retrospective study of 26 patients with DAVFs who presented with intracranial hemorrhage to our institution was performed. The information reviewed included clinical presentation, location and size of hemorrhage, brain CTA and 3D DSA findings; (3) results: 61% (16/26) of DAVFs were identified by CTA. The vast majority of patients were male (69%, 18/26) and the most common presenting symptom was sudden onset headache. All DAVFs had cortical venous drainage and about one-third were associated with a venous varix. The most common location was tentorial (73%, 19/26); (4) conclusions: CTA can represent a valid alternative diagnostic method to 3D DSA for the study of DAVF in the initial and preliminary diagnostic approach, especially in emergency situations. In fact, it represents a fast, inexpensive, non-invasive and above all, easily accessible and available diagnostic technique, unlike DSA or MRI, allowing to provide information necessary for the identification, classification and treatment planning of DAVF

    Abstracts from the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Meeting 2016

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    Pyonephrosis Ultrasound and Computed Tomography Features: A Pictorial Review

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    Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most frequent community-acquired and healthcare-associated bacterial infections. UTIs are heterogeneous and range from rather benign, uncomplicated infections to complicated UTIs (cUTIs), pyelonephritis and severe urosepsis, depending mostly on the host response. Ultrasound and computed tomography represent the imaging processes of choice in the diagnosis and staging of the pathology in emergency settings. The aim of this study is to describe the common ultrasound (US) and computed tomography (CT) features of pyonephrosis. US can make the diagnosis, demonstrating echogenic debris, fluid/fluid levels, and air in the collecting system. Although the diagnosis appears to be easily made with US, CT is necessary in non-diagnostic US examinations to confirm the diagnosis, to demonstrate the cause and moreover to stage the pathology, defining extrarenal complications. In emergency settings, US and CT are differently used in the diagnosis and staging of pyonephrosis

    Role of CT and MRI in Cardiac Emergencies

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    Current strategies for the evaluation of patients with chest pain have significantly changed thanks to the implemented potentiality of CT and MRI. The possible fatal consequences and high malpractice costs of missed acute coronary syndromes lead to unnecessary hospital admissions every year. CT provides consistent diagnostic support, mainly in suspected coronary disease in patients with a low or intermediate pre-test risk. Moreover, it can gain information in the case of cardiac involvement in pulmonary vascular obstructive disease. MRI, on the other hand, has a leading role in the condition of myocardial damage irrespective of the underlying inflammatory or stress related etiology. This article discusses how radiology techniques (CT and MRI) can impact the diagnostic workflow of the most common cardiac and vascular pathologies that are responsible for non-traumatic chest pain admissions to the Emergency Department

    Pneumomediastinum and Pneumothorax as Relevant Complications of Sub-Intensive Care of Patients with COVID-19: Description of a Case Series

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    Lung failure has been the most common cause of hospitalization for COVID-19. Yet, bilateral interstitial pneumonia has not been the only cause of lung failure of these inpatients, and frequently they develop other illnesses associated with COVID-19. Pulmonary embolism has been the most looked for in the world, but rarely other pneumological diseases, such as pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum, have been described and associated with a worsening prognosis. We here report our clinical experience associated with the occurrence of pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum in a cohort of inpatients hospitalized in our division of medicine in a regular ward or in a sub-intensive ward

    Noninfectious Granulomatous Lung Disease: Radiological Findings and Differential Diagnosis

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    Granulomatous lung diseases (GLDs) are a heterogeneous group of pathological entities that can have different clinical presentations and outcomes. Granulomas are histologically defined as focal aggregations of activated macrophages, Langerhans cells, and lymphocytes, and may form in the lungs when the immune system cannot eliminate a foreign antigen and attempts to barricade it. The diagnosis includes clinical evaluation, laboratory testing, and radiological imaging, which especially consists of high-resolution computed tomography. bronchoalveolar lavage, transbronchial needle aspiration or cryobiopsy, positron emission tomography, while genetic evaluation can improve the diagnostic accuracy. Differential diagnosis is challenging due to the numerous different imaging appearances with which GLDs may manifest. Indeed, GLDs include both infectious and noninfectious, and necrotizing and non-necrotizing granulomatous diseases and the imaging appearance of some GLDs may mimic malignancy, leading to confirmatory biopsy. The purposes of our review are to report the different noninfectious granulomatous entities and to show their various imaging features to help radiologists recognize them properly and make an accurate differential diagnosis
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