Diagnostic value of acustic radiation force impulse imaging in the assessment of salivary gland involvement in primary Sjogren's sydrome

Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate the diagnostic value of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) imaging in the assessment of salivary gland involvement in primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS). Material and methods: Twenty five patients with pSS and 25 healthy volunteers were included. First, echostructures and the thickness of the submandibular and parotid glands were evaluated by B-mode ultrasonography. Then, ARFI imaging with Virtual Touch Quantification (R) was performed. Ten independent shear wave velocity measurements were taken from each gland. Finally, the mean shear wave velocity (SWV) values were calculated, and used for further analysis. Results: The mean SWV values of parotid and submandibular glands were significantly higher in the pSS patients than in the healthy control group (p 0.005). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that ARFI imaging may provide a non-invasive, simple and fast means of assessment of glandular impairment as an alternative test when other salivary gland tests are inconclusive or cannot be performed. ARFI may be a valuable adjunct for the clinical diagnosis of pSS

Cervical destructive spondyloarthropathy due to the dialysis-related amyloidosis: imaging findings

Dialysis-related amyloidosis that occurs secondary to the deposition of amyloid fibrils containing beta-2-microglobulin, is a type of amyloidosis affecting patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis. It involves the osteoarticular system predominantly. Destructive spondyloarthropathy, is a type of dialysis-related spondyloarthropathy, which frequently involves the cervical spine, have been reported only sporadically. We describe a case of a destructive spondyloarthropathy, in a 43-year-old long-term hemodialysis patient, presenting with myelopathy with particular interest to cervical computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings

Interobserver and intermethod variability in data interpretation of breast strain elastography in suspicious breast lesions

Background/aim: Strain elastography has the disadvantage of being operator-dependent. Interobserver variability is observed during image acquisition and interpretation. This study aimed to analyze the interobserver and intermethod variability of strain elastography in image interpretation and evaluate the diagnostic performance combining elasticity score and strain ratio with ultrasonography

Value of shear wave elastography by virtual touch tissue imaging quantification in patients with diffuse thyroid gland pathology

Background/aim: This study was performed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of shear wave elastography by virtual touch tissue imaging quantification in patients with diffuse thyroid gland pathology and to differentiate Graves' disease from Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Materials and methods: Thirty patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis and 22 patients with Graves' disease were evaluated with conventional ultrasonography and shear wave elastography by virtual touch tissue imaging quantification. Thirty healthy participants formed the control group. Ten elastographic measurements of each thyroid lobe were performed in all three study groups. The mean shear wave velocity was calculated and compared between the patients and controls. Results: The mean shear wave velocity of the controls (1.92 +/- 0.14 m/s) was significantly lower than that of the patients with Graves' disease (2.71 +/- 0.22 m/s) and Hashimoto's thyroiditis (2.50 +/- 0.20 m/s). Patients with Graves' disease had significantly higher shear wave velocities than those with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Shear wave elastography by virtual touch tissue imaging quantification can be used to discriminate a normal thyroid gland from diffuse thyroid gland pathology after conventional sonography and may assist in the diagnosis of Graves' disease and Hashimoto's thyroiditis